ArticlePloS one2023
The impact of caregiver mental health on child prosocial behavior: A longitudinal analysis of children and caregivers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Caregivers' early stimulation behaviors on early child development outcomes in Northern Ghana.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Enhancing Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Adolescents and Young Adults Through the Asenze Impilo Project: Protocol for a Human-Centered Design Study.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundProsocial behavior has positive social, cognitive, and physical health effects on the individual exhibiting the behavior as well as on society as a whole, and is integral to overall mental and physical wellbeing. The development of prosocial behavior is rooted in early childhood and learned through observation. As such, those spending time with children, especially their caregiver, play a critical role in their prosocial development. The current study investigates the impact of caregiver mental health on the prosocial development of young children over time.
methodsThis paper presents a secondary analysis of child prosocial development in the Asenze Study, a longitudinal, population-based cohort study based in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Children were followed-up over time from an average age of five to seven years along with their caregivers. Linear GEE regression analysis was used to assess whether a change in presence of a mental health disorder in a caregiver during this 2-year interval (using the Client Diagnostic Questionnaire) impacted the development of their child's prosocial behavior (using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire).
resultsAfter adjusting for early child-care, child HIV status, SDQ child prosocial subscale, SDQ total difficulties score, and household order score (CHAOS), children whose caregivers acquired a mental health disorder had a significantly smaller increase in prosocial behavioral development compared to children whose caregivers never had a mental health disorder.
conclusionsIdentifying contextually relevant modifiable factors such as this will help stimulate the development of interventions to promote prosocial development in childhood.
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Registered trials
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