Peer-reviewed article
Parental stress and child stimulation practices: examining associations with child developmental outcomes over time in Kenya and Zambia
Kenneth Okelo, Aja Louise Murray, Josiah P. J. King, Patricia Kitsao-Wekulo, Silas Onyango et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how parental stress and caregiver stimulation practices relate to child development in Kenya and Zambia. Researchers followed 341 caregivers and children over three time points, measuring developmental outcomes, parental stress, and stimulation activities. The findings showed that caregiver stimulation practices were linked to better child developmental outcomes, though the relationship between parental stress and other factors was mixed. The study suggests that policies should focus on improving parenting practices by reducing parental stress, such as through subsidized childcare.
Key points
- Caregiver stimulation practices were positively associated with child developmental outcomes
- Associations between parental stress and caregiving practices were not universally supported across settings
- Study followed children from mean age 9.3 months to 36 months over three measurement periods
- Policy recommendation to address parental stress through subsidized childcare services
- Limited prior evidence existed from sub-Saharan Africa on these associations
Limitations
The study does not establish clear causal pathways, as results on parental stress associations were inconsistent across contexts. The findings may not generalize beyond the specific regions studied (Kisumu, Nairobi, and Chisamba District).
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Parental stress often arises when parenting demands exceed the expected and actual resources available for parents to succeed in the parenting role. Parental stress is an important contributor to parent-child relationships. This, in turn, affects opportunities to engage their children in stimulating activities which could improve their development outcomes. However, limited evidence exists from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) on the association between parental stress, caregiving practices, and child developmental outcomes. METHODS: The findings reported in this paper were derived from data collected through previous longitudinal work on nurturing care evaluation studies in Kisumu and Nairobi Counties in Kenya, and Chisamba District in Zambia. A total of 341 caregivers and their children who participated in the three rounds of data collection were included in this study. The children's mean age was 9.3 (SD = 8.2) months pre-intervention, 25.5 (SD = 8.6) months in mid-intervention, and 36 (SD = 10.0) months post-intervention. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), Parental Stress Scale (PSS), and caregiving tools were used to assess children's developmental outcomes, parental stress, and stimulation practices, respectively. A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel model (RI-CLPM) was used to determine the association between caregivers' parenting stress, child stimulation practices, and child developmental outcomes. RESULTS: The findings showed that caregiver stimulation practices were positively associated with developmental outcomes. Findings on the associations between parental stress and caregivers' stimulation practices and children's developmental outcomes were not universally supported. CONCLUSION: The findings show that improved caregiver stimulation practices are likely to improve children's developmental outcomes. The policy implications of the findings from this study focus on improving parenting practices by addressing the predictors of parental stress. This includes subsidising childcare services to reduce costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry ( https://pactr.samrc.ac.za/ ) database (ID number: PACTR20180774832663 Date: 26/July/2018.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Longitudinal assessment of caregiving practices (stimulation activities) with monitoring of parental stress and child development outcomes
- Population
- 341 caregivers and children in Kenya (Kisumu and Nairobi Counties) and Zambia (Chisamba District), followed from approximately 9 months to 36 months of child age
Key finding
Caregiver stimulation practices were positively associated with child developmental outcomes