Risk and protective factors to early childhood development during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Priscila Costa, Evelyn Forni, Isabella Amato and 1 others
PMID 36197030WHAT IT FOUND
Living with grandparents and receiving cash transfers protected child development during the pandemic.
Families headed by women faced higher developmental risk. These social factors matter more than individual maternal behaviors for children under three.
Key findings
01Family participation in cash transfer programs and children living with grandparents were statistically significant protective factors for child development.
02Families headed by a woman were identified as a risk factor for child development.
03Associations with maternal education, depression, and substance use during pregnancy were not statistically significant in this sample.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling with a small sample size (108 participants) from only three daycare centers, limiting generalizability. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality between the identified factors and child development outcomes. Only 108 of 450 invited guardians participated, introducing potential selection bias. The study did not find significant associations for several known risk factors (e.g., maternal depression, smoking), likely due to insufficient statistical power.
Declared interests
The study was conducted by researchers from a public university in São Paulo. No specific commercial funding or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lack of significance for maternal depression or substance use as evidence that these factors do not harm child development. The authors state this finding is likely due to the small sample size and study design, not because the risks are absent.