Do maternal and paternal education protect against developmental delays?
Diane L Putnick, Neil J Perkins, Edwina Yeung and 1 others
PMID 39332281WHAT IT FOUND
Maternal education is associated with lower odds of developmental delays in children's second and third years, but not the first.
Paternal education shows a similar trend only when maternal education is not considered, suggesting maternal factors are the primary driver.
Key findings
01Higher maternal education is associated with lower odds of probable developmental delays in years 2 and 3, but not year 1.
02The protective association of paternal education with developmental delays disappears when adjusting for maternal education.
03Joint household education levels are protective against delays in years 2 and 3, but not year 1.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Parents with lower education were more likely to drop out of the study, creating potential bias despite statistical adjustments. Mothers reported on their child's development and their partner's education, which may have introduced reporting bias or errors. The study used a screening tool (ASQ) rather than a diagnostic assessment to identify probable delays. Findings may not generalize to low- and middle-income countries or populations with different educational distributions. The analysis used one-sided hypothesis tests, which increases power but prevents the calculation of standard confidence intervals.
Declared interests
The study was supported by a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of association in the first year as evidence that education is irrelevant to early development. The study suggests that early delays may stem from biological factors like prematurity, while later delays are more sensitive to environmental factors linked to parental education.