Peer-reviewed article
A scoping review of responsive caregiving in diverse populations and its association with child development
Eunice Lobo, Sandeep Mahapatra, Joshua Jeong, Giridhara R. Babu, Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This scoping review examined how caregiver characteristics, child factors, and cultural context influence responsive caregiving in children aged 0-8 years, and how responsive caregiving relates to child development. The review included 138 peer-reviewed studies and found that caregiver type, maternal health, child developmental status, and socio-economic context all shape how caregivers respond to children. Language development was most frequently studied in relation to responsive caregiving. The authors note that most research comes from high-income countries, with significant gaps in understanding caregiving in Global South settings.
Key points
- Caregiver characteristics including type, maternal health, and demographics influenced responsive caregiving, with differences between mothers and fathers
- Child factors such as developmental disabilities, age, prematurity, and gender shaped responsive caregiving practices
- Cultural context and socio-economic status significantly influenced responsive caregiving across populations
- Language development was the most frequently reported outcome associated with responsive caregiving
- Significant research gaps exist in the Global South, limiting understanding of caregiving in under-researched populations
Limitations
This scoping review synthesizes associations rather than establishing causal relationships between responsive caregiving and child outcomes. The review is limited to English-language peer-reviewed articles, which likely underrepresents research from diverse regions and may exclude important evidence from non-English publications.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Responsive caregiving is a key component of nurturing care and crucial for early child development. While responsive caregiving has been examined in multiple studies, a comprehensive review summarizing findings from these studies across diverse caregiver, child, cultural, and socio-economic contexts is currently lacking. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review to synthesize evidence on (1) caregiver, child, and contextual factors influencing responsive caregiving and (2) association between responsive caregiving and children's neurodevelopment and mental health. We included peer-reviewed English articles describing responsive caregiving for children aged 0-8 years. Articles were systematically searched in PubMed, Web of Science, APA PsychInfo, APA PsycArticles, SocINDEX, Google Scholar, and the reference lists of included articles. Relevant data were extracted, collated, and synthesized into descriptive summaries and associations with children's development. RESULTS: We retrieved 7412 unique studies for title/abstract screening and 541 full-texts were screened and 138 studies met the inclusion criteria. Caregiver characteristics, including caregiver type, maternal health, and demographics, influenced responsive caregiving, with notable differences between mothers and fathers. Child-level factors, such as developmental disabilities, age, term or preterm birth status, and gender, also shaped responsive caregiving. Cultural context and socio-economic status also influenced responsive caregiving across populations. Language development was the most frequently reported with responsive caregiving. CONCLUSION: This scoping review maps how caregiver, child, and contextual factors influence responsive caregiving. Significant gaps remain in understanding caregiving in the under-researched Global South settings. Policymakers and practitioners should consider socio-cultural contexts, along with the pathways and mechanisms, when designing inclusive interventions that strengthen caregiving and support child development.