Peer-reviewed article
Early child development and caregiver subjective well-being in rural China
Renfu Luo, Qijia Lyu, Scott Rozelle, Shun Wang ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how early child development relates to caregiver well-being in rural China, using standardized assessments of child development in 32 townships across seven poverty counties. Researchers found that children's social-emotional skills were positively associated with caregivers' life satisfaction and positive emotions. However, child development was not significantly linked to caregivers' negative emotions, depression, anxiety, or stress levels.
Key points
- Child development indicators, particularly social-emotional skills, are positively correlated with caregiver life evaluations and positive emotion
- No significant correlation was found between child development and caregiver negative emotion, depression, anxiety, or stress scores
- The study used both the Ages & Stages Questionnaire social-emotional module and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development for assessment
- Data were collected from families in seven nationally designated poverty counties in the Qinling mountainous region
Limitations
The study is correlational, not experimental, so it cannot establish causation or determine the direction of effects between child development and caregiver well-being. The cross-sectional design prevents understanding whether better child development improves caregiver well-being or whether caregiver well-being supports child development.
Abstract
Purpose This study aims to bridge the gaps in the existing literature by studying the links between children's development and the subjective well-being of the caregivers using first-hand data collected in rural China. Design/methodology/approach Although the broad array of literature has examined the effects of child development on the subjective well-being of caregivers, the relationship between early childhood development and caregiver subjective well-being has not been well-studied using sample families with potential developmental delay in rural China. Also, existing research has relied on maternal reports to evaluate the developmental status of children. The study used data collected from 32 townships in seven nationally designated poverty counties in the Qinling mountainous area in 2016. The authors measure child development using the social-emotional module of the Ages & Stages Questionnaire and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development–Third Edition. Findings The authors find that child development indicators are correlated with caregiver subjective well-being. In particular, social-emotional skills are positively associated with life evaluations and positive emotion. However, we do not find any significant correlation between child development and negative emotion or depression, anxiety and stress scores. Originality/value The value of this study is to report the indicators of child development in rural China and examines the correlation between child development and caregivers' subjective well-being.