Africa Knowledge Hub for Children

OtherCrossref21 Feb 2025

The Importance of Psychological Well-Being for Women: Ways to Cope with Stress and Postnatal Depression

Psychological well-being is essential for women’s health, affecting various aspects of life, including social roles, work-life balance, and maternal responsibilities. This chapter highlights its importance, addressing factors such as societal expectations, biological differences, and life events like pregnancy and motherhood. Women’s mental health is increasingly recognized in public health due to its broad implications. Emphasis is placed on stress and postnatal depression, exploring their biological, social, and cultural foundations and their influence on mental health. Postpartum depression, a significant condition with far-reaching effects on both the mother and her family, is discussed extensively, including its causes, symptoms, and impact on family dynamics. The importance of prevention, early intervention, and treatment is also examined. Coping strategies for stress and postpartum depression, such as psychosocial interventions, social support mechanisms, and group therapies, are explored as crucial elements in mental health recovery. Additionally, the integration of biological treatments, including antidepressants and hormonal therapies, with psychosocial methods is reviewed to optimize outcomes. This chapter also underscores the role of social support networks and societal awareness in addressing postpartum depression, advocating for policy development and community-based solutions. Lastly, it examines the long-term impacts on maternal mental health and mother-child relationships, emphasizing the need for sustainable mental health strategies. This analysis aims to promote awareness, prevention, and treatment of women’s mental health issues, with a focus on postpartum depression.

Ibrahim Dag, Vasfiye Bayram Deger

Survival

Peer-reviewed articleCrossref1 Jan 2026

The Erosion of the Immigrant Paradox: Acculturation, Gender, and Child Well-being in the Child Welfare System

Objective: This study examines the ”immigrant paradox” in child well-being among 3,298 children involved in the U.S. child welfare system, comparing outcomes for those with U.S.-born versus foreign-born caregivers. It further investigates how acculturation factors and gender shape behavioral problems, violence exposure, and trauma in immigrant families.,Methods: Using longitudinal data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being III (2017–2022), reports from children, caregivers, and caseworkers across 61 counties were analyzed. Logistic regression models, adjusted for demographic and risk factors, assessed disparities in well-being and the moderating effects of acculturation.,Results: Children of U.S.-born caregivers were more than twice as likely to exhibit behavioral problems (OR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.12–4.36) and externalizing issues (OR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.31–5.53). However, a clear ”erosion of protection” emerged as acculturation increased: each additional year in the U.S. raised the odds of violence exposure by 5%. Girls in immigrant families faced 4.76 times higher odds of trauma than their U.S.-born counterparts (OR = 4.76, 95% CI = 1.04–25.00), and linguistic isolation was associated with 3.45 times higher odds of internalizing problems.,Conclusions: Immigrant families appear to enter child welfare with cultural protective factors that weaken over time and differ by gender. Findings underscore the need for gender-responsive, culturally and linguistically informed child welfare interventions that address the unique traumatic pressures experienced by immigrant girls and the compounding effects of long-term U.S. residency.

Chien-jen Chiang, Miyoun Yang, Maryam Rafieifar et al.

ProtectionDevelopmentUSRead at source

OtherCrossref1 Jan 2024

The Effects of the 2021 Child Tax Credit on Parents’ Psychological Well-Being

Although improving psychological well-being was not the explicit focus of the 2021 expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC), psychological health outcomes may have been affected by the positive income shocks generated by the credit. In this chapter we ask: How did the 2021 expanded CTC affect parents’ psychological well-being? Some studies have found that the CTC led to reductions in parental reports of clinical levels of depression and anxiety and in subclinical depressive and anxiety symptoms. Using similar methods, other studies have found no effect on these same outcomes. Importantly, however, the evidence does not point to the CTC worsening psychological well-being. We conclude that the evidence so far is thin, narrow, and mixed, even when our review is expanded to comparable studies on the impact of income support. Alignment of policy objectives with a broader range of measurement approaches will be important in building a more conclusive evidence base.

Lisa A. Gennetian, Anna Gassman-Pines

USRead at source

Peer-reviewed articleCrossref19 Aug 2025

How the Father-Child Relationship Shapes a Child’s Emotional and Behavioral Well-Being: Key Influencing Factors

Abstract Objectives Fathers provide emotional stability and security, which promotes normal mental development in children. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the father-child relationship on a child's behavioral and emotional well-being and its associated factors in Palestine. Methods This cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational, quantitative, non-experimental study involved a representative sample of fathers who had children aged between 4 and 17 years in Palestine. Data were collected using the Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS) to assess the strength of the father-child relationship and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to examine the child’s emotional and behavioral well-being. Results Since a close relationship between a father and a child reflects a child's emotional and behavioral well-being, the results suggest that a father-child relationship impacts a child's emotional and behavioral well-being. Behavioral issues and emotional symptoms worsen in a father-child relationship characterized by conflict. Conclusion It is feasible to undertake a study that discusses the impact of this relationship from the perspective of the child and launches public awareness campaigns that highlight the unique role of fathers, the value of their involvement, and its effects on their children’s safety and emotional and behavioral well-being.

Imad Asmar

DevelopmentPSRead at source

OtherCrossref1 Jan 2023

Minimum Wage, Worker Quality, and Consumer Well-Being: Evidence from the Child Care Market

This paper combines multiple data sources to study the impact of the minimum wage on service quality and consumer well-being within the child care market. Although child care firms increase teacher pay in response to minimum wage reforms, we find no impact on employment levels. Instead, providers respond by implementing a range of other revenue-enhancing and cost-saving practices, such as raising prices, increasing child-to-staff ratios, and serving fewer children in the child care subsidy system. We also find evidence that service quality increases: staff turnover declines, teachers are more likely to make human capital investments, and teacher-child interactions improve. Despite the increase in quality, parents report that they are less satisfied with their child care provider, a result we attribute to the increase in prices.

Jessica Brown, Chris M. Herbst

DevelopmentRead at source

OtherCrossref1 Jan 2019

Parental Child Care Time, Income and Subjective Well-Being: A Multidimensional Polarization Approach for Germany

Neither market income nor consumption expenditure provides an adequate picture of individual standard of living. It is time which enables and restricts individual activities and is a further brick to a more comprehensive picture of individual well-being. In our study we focus on a prominent part of time use in non-market services: it is parental child care which contributes not only to individual but also to societal well-being. Within a novel approach we ask for multidimensional polarization effects of parental child care where compensation/substitution of time for parental child care versus income is interdependently evaluated by panel estimates of society's subjective well-being.The new interdependent 2DGAP measure thereby provides multidimensional polarization intensity information for the poor and the rich and disentangles the single time and income contribution to subjective well-being for targeted policies ensuring at the same time the interdependence of the polarization dimensions. Socio-economic influences on the polarization pole risk and intensity will be quantified by two stage Heckman estimates. The analyses are based on the German Socio-Economic Panel with 21 waves and robust fixed effects estimates as well as the German Time Use Surveys 1991/92 and actual 2012/13 with detailed diary time use data.Prominent result: compensation between parental child care time and income proved to be significant, but there are multidimensional regions with no compensation, where parental child care time deficit is not compensated by income. Interdependent multidimensional polarization by headcount and intensity increased significantly over the twenty years under investigation with remarkable risk and intensity differences.

Joachim Merz, Normen Peters

DERead at source

Peer-reviewed articleCrossref7 Sept 2021

World Child Well-Being Index: A Multidimensional Perspective

AbstractThis work aims to understand the situation of children within a particular territory and assess the different dimensions of this scenario. To this end we develop a multidimensional indicator to synthesize the most relevant dimensions and indicators around the world at a country level. Our results not only identify the aspects exerting the greatest impact on infant well-being, but also provide a full international comparison. The ranking obtained allows us to compare among countries, thus highlighting differences in the transformation of wealth into infant well-being. Moreover, incorporating gender into the analysis provides a new and relevant perspective.

Albino Prada, Patricio Sanchez-Fernandez

Read at source

Peer-reviewed articleCrossref19 Jan 2023

Filling the 8-Year-Old Gap in the Study of Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Assessment and Validation of a Subjective Well-Being Measure Across 19 Countries

Abstract Research on child well-being under 10 years old is limited. A first step towards stimulating research targeting this population is the validation of psychometric scales across cultures. The current study examines the cross-cultural validity of the Children’s Worlds - Subjective Well-being Scale (CS-SWBS-8-year-old version), a six-item subjective well-being scale in an international sample of 8-year-olds (N = 20,822) across 19 countries. A confirmatory factor analysis of the CW-SWBS-8yo showed adequate fit after structural equation modelling. Multi-group analysis supported scalar invariance when one of the countries (Chile) was not included in the model. When testing convergent validity, results suggested that the CW-SWBS-8yo is predicted by life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. Overall, the findings support the use of the CW-SWBS-8yo in 8 year-olds in both eastern and western countries.

Ana Blasco-Belled, Mònica González-Carrasco, Ferran Casas

DevelopmentCLRead at source

OtherCrossref15 Sept 2025

Some Reflections on Strengthening Epistemic Justice and Psychosocial Well-Being in the US Child Welfare System

Abstract Some reflections on strengthening epistemic justice and psychosocial well-being in the US child welfare system describes implications of our comparative ethnographic research beginning with the experiences of parents, professionals, and young people within child welfare systems using a comparative, ethnographic approach embedded within time and place. This approach revealed the cultural embeddedness of child welfare systems, as well as the psychosocial-spiritual harm, specifically moral injury, that can occur as a result of epistemic injustice within the US child welfare system. We argue that barriers to creating a more compassionate, epistemically just and effective child welfare system include a misalignment of cultural notions of child maltreatment—why it occurs, who is worthy of help, and who is responsible for helping—with those notions underlying many progressive policies and programs implemented in the United States over the decades. When progressive laws, policies, and programs that support families conflict with widespread cultural notions that criminalize struggling parents and devalue those who are impoverished and from historically oppressed groups, then implementing them and sustaining support from the general public and those in positions of power will falter.

Wendy Haight, Linda Kingery

ProtectionParticipationUSRead at source

OtherCrossref5 Jan 2024

Mindfulness for Child and Adolescent Well-Being

The chapter examines the significant impact of mindfulness on children and adolescents. Mindfulness is the mental state defined by greater concentration, consciousness, and focus on the here and now, free from judgment. This chapter starts with the theoretical background of mindfulness and the current developments of mindfulness related to children's and adolescents' wellbeing. There are three main domains focused on mindfulness. Begin with emotional domains—that explains how mindfulness helps to regulate the emotions. Secondly, cognitive domains explain how mindfulness practices help cognitive development and academic performance in educational settings. Thirdly, social and interpersonal domains explain the uses of mindfulness to improve social skills and interpersonal relationships with peer groups, family, and society. The chapter concludes with the role of parental and educational institutions in promoting mindfulness among children and adolescents to create a positive impact on their lives.

M. Dhamodharan