This paper assessed the effect of maternal labour force participation on child well-being in Cameroon using data extracted from the 2018 Cameroon Demographic and Health Survey. The Instrumental Two- Stage- Least Squares (IV2SLS) technique, controlling for endogeneity was employed to analyse the effect of maternal labour force participation on child well-being in Cameroon. The results of the Instrumental Two- Stage- Least Squares (IV2SLS) revealed that maternal labour force participation had a positive and statistically significant effect on child well-being in Cameroon. Decomposing maternal labour force participation effect on child well-being, we realised that it was more of an issue of secondary education due to inadequate education and training. Based on the results, the paper recommends that development policies should continue to adhere to international conventions which promote the education of women and their emancipation so as to enhance their participation in the labour force in a bid to enhance child well-being.
Ndah Justus Nkezi, Dobdinga Cletus Fonchamnyo, Ibrahim Nji Ngouhouo
The Children’s Hearing system was established in Scotland over 50 years ago to respond to child welfare and juvenile justice concerns. Found throughout all regions of Scotland, the child welfare system is a community-based approach where volunteers play an essential role by serving on Children’s Panels. This research focuses on the Children’s Panel volunteers and explores their role within the Children’s Hearing system, reasons for volunteering, types of cases reviewed, their training, and volunteers’ broader influence as catalysts for improving child well-being. It then explores the possibility of replicating the evidenced based model in other cultural settings struggling to find holistic, community-based approaches to child well-being.
Abstract Background Children's well‐being in terms of physical, emotional, social, and academic outcomes is largely influenced by environmental characteristics, with the presence of childhood adversities constituting a risk factor, and support provided by the family working as a protective factor. Yet the role of individual differences in children's sensitivity to environmental influences in these relations is still underexplored; following the differential susceptibility model, it could be a potential moderator. Methods Participants were 227 children (mean age 7.05 years) and their parents, who were interviewed on the number of experienced childhood adversities and family supportive resources, as well as on child well‐being and environmental sensitivity. Results Path analysis showed that, as expected, the number of family adversities was negatively associated with children's physical and emotional comfort and perceived academic performance, whereas supportive resources provided by the family were positively related to child well‐being. Of importance, children's environmental sensitivity moderated these associations emphasizing the negative effects of a stressful environment on physical and social functioning and increasing the positive effect of a supportive environment on children's social performance. Conclusions The present data lend support to a diathesis–stress model, with highly sensitive children being more susceptible to both negative and positive environmental influences in relation to well‐being. Interventions may focus on providing clinical support to these children in the context of particularly aversive environments.
Sara Scrimin, Gabriele Osler, Tiziana Pozzoli et al.
This study investigated the correlation between parental anxiety and child well-being (evaluated through anxiety, self-esteem, emotional recognition, and locus of control) within the Indian context. It employed a correlational cross-sectional design, with sixteen Indian families (N = 48). Participants completed the procedure through an online meeting with the researcher. Parents filled four self-report questionnaires: the GAD-7, Parent Stress Scale, Parental Overprotection Measure, and the SCAS-Parent version. Children filled the SCAS-Child, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, and an emotion recognition task. The Spearman’s rank-order method was used to analyze ten primary correlations. Principal findings revealed that parental anxiety correlated positively with child anxiety and self-esteem; parental perception of child anxiety also correlated positively with child anxiety. There was no significant correlation between child anxiety and self-esteem, and a weak correlation between child anxiety and emotion recognition. Further, an external locus of control in children was associated with greater child anxiety, higher self-esteem, and greater parental overprotection. These findings highlight the need for further research on parent and child well-being in the Indian context, while focusing on developing stronger support systems to help families cope with mental health challenges.
The policy perspective examines how schools can address students' mental, emotional, social, and digital challenges by forming partnerships with external actors and community resources. Drawing on information about education policies collected by the OECD in 2022, it explores the prevalence, structure, and effectiveness of cross-sectoral collaborations in areas such as physical health, emotional well-being, and digital technology use. It highlights a number of initiatives in OECD countries where schools engage with external agents to support child well-being and use of digital technology. By gathering insights from different education systems, the perspective informs policies for supporting the holistic growth of students.
= 35) and their school-aged children (ages 4-11, 50% female) alongside daily measures of parent-reported food insecurity and parent and child mood and behavior, we examine how daily changes in food insecurity predict daily changes in parent and child well-being, and the extent to which food insecurity operates through parents to affect children. This method not only explores families' daily, lived experiences of food insecurity, but improves upon the methodological issues undermining past research. Findings indicate that food insecurity influences parent and child well-being on a daily basis, but that associations are stronger and sustain longer for parents than children. Further, parent mood and behavior partially explain the association between daily food insecurity and child mood and behavior, but food insecurity is also independently associated with child well-being. This study is the first to examine daily associations between food insecurity and parent and child well-being. Its implications for food assistance programs, policies, and the future of food insecurity research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
Caitlin T. Hines, Samantha Steimle, Rebecca M. Ryan
Background/Objectives: This study is to examine the well-being of child in the world of child’s life such as development, education, and play in a phenomenological manner.Method/Statistical Analysis: We based data collected through educational and academic information sources (RISS) search as big data, and analyzed the keywords and the network analyzed by the ‘well-being’, ‘wellness” and ‘Chamsari’ keywords. The frequency, ranking, and connection of the keywords were analyzed through the process of processing the collected unstructured text into the data suitable for research and analysis.Findings: This study tried to reveal the reality of child well-being through phenomenological perspective based on the understanding of experts about child well-being through academic big data analysis. The results of the study showed that psychological themes such as activities, body, emotion, subjectivity, and psychology were highly linked with child’s well-being. Child who live well in the phenomenological attitude exhibition were distinguished from adults and they were justifying adult control and intervention by refracting them as immature beings. In addition, it points out that the uniqueness of individual existence undermines the originality of the existing child, and furthermore, it can realize the child’s disaster by expanding the unique life style of the child’s existence by the advancement of the fusion of expression through the subjective expression of the unique individual existence experienced by the child, and the dialogue based on the ethics with the other.Improvements/Applications: This study suggests that the ideological foundation of living and human public service should be prepared.
Violence against young children remains a persistent yet insufficiently interrogated barrier to effective early childhood learning, particularly within rural and resource-constrained contexts. This study assessed the influence of violence against pre-primary II school children on attainment of learning outcomes in Kitui County. Anchored in the Culture of Violence Theory and Family Systems Theory, the study employed an analytical cross-sectional design integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study population comprised PP2 learners, teachers, parents or caregivers, and Sub-County Children’s Officers drawn from public pre-primary schools across the county. The target population comprised 34,526 pre-primary two children, 3,006 teachers, and an equal number of parents or caregivers drawn from 1,874 public pre-primary schools in Kitui County. From this population, 50 schools (10%) were selected using simple random sampling. The total sample size for the study was 658 respondents. Data were collected through questionnaires, observation checklists, a standardized violence exposure screening tool, and focus group discussions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and analysis of variance, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that violence greatly harms children’s academic, social, and emotional well-being. Quantitative results indicated that 90% of teachers saw very low participation in class among affected children. Additionally, 84% noted poor concentration, 80% reported strained peer relationships, 76% observed incomplete assignments, and 70% mentioned frequent absenteeism. The three-way ANOVA results confirmed that child (p = .014), family (p = .001), and school (p = .000) factors significantly affected learning outcomes, with school and family issues having the most impact. Teachers shared that affected children appeared withdrawn, inattentive, and emotionally troubled, showing little energy or enthusiasm in class. The study concluded that exposure to violence seriously impairs behavioural, socio-emotional, and cognitive learning outcomes. Children who were exposed to violence showed damaged peer relationships, risky behaviour, low task completion, poor concentration, and absenteeism. The study provides strong empirical evidence that links exposure to multidimensional violence to quantifiable deficiencies in early learning outcomes, emphasizing the interconnected influence of child, family, and school factors. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education should ensure the full implementation and monitoring of existing child protection and discipline guidelines that prohibit corporal punishment in schools. The establishment of clear, enforceable codes of conduct and reporting mechanisms will promote accountability among teachers and administrators while fostering safe learning environments consistent with children’s rights frameworks. School administrators and Boards of Management should prioritize physical safety through adequate fencing, teacher recruitment to reduce class sizes, and dedicated supervision during play and transitions. Strengthening the physical and supervisory environment will directly minimize opportunities for peer violence and injury.
The article examines four key areas affecting child well-being in Bangladesh: child marriage, violence against children, child education, and child health. The research for this article was conducted through fieldwork, including surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and expert consultations. Despite the prevailing perception that religion hinders progress, this article argues that social and economic factors play a more significant role as the primary drivers of children’s misfortunes. Nonetheless, Islamic values indirectly impact issues such as early marriage, co-education, physical punishment, and seeking gynecological services. The article emphasizes the need for further training of faith leaders to enable them to play nuanced roles in promoting children’s well-being on a larger scale in Bangladesh.
Shafi Md Mostofa, Muhammad Sazzad Hossain Siddiqui
Meeting the education needs of children is increasingly recognized as a necessary part of humanitarian response in emergencies. Experiences of war, dislocation, and trauma are known to affect children's psychosocial wellbeing. Less is known about how mental health and psychosocial wellbeing affect children's learning in emergencies. In this article, we examine this effect among children experiencing the crisis in Syria. The data we use are from children (N=7,191) who received educational support in northwest Syria from November 2018 to May 2019. We used the literacy levels reported by teachers to measure student learning, and the Washington Group Questions to measure cognitive or psychosocial difficulties. The average length of time between moving up a literacy level was 64 days. We fit mixed ordinal models to assess the associations between having one, every, or multiple cognitive and psychosocial difficulties. Having a single cognitive or psychosocial difficulty was associated with poorer learning progress. Children with two or more cognitive or psychosocial difficulties were less likely to progress as far as those without any such difficulties. The findings suggest that psychosocial and cognitive support for children in emergencies is needed, not just for their wellbeing but to enable them to learn effectively.
Grace Nwanne Anyaegbu, Caroline Carney, Holly-Jane Howell et al.
