Children's Caregiving and Growth in Northwestern Tanzania: Limited Evidence That Support From Specific Caregivers Is Associated With Better Growth

IF 1.6 4区 医学 Q1 ANTHROPOLOGY
Anushé Hassan, David W. Lawson, Abigail E. Page, Rebecca Sear, Susan B. Schaffnit, Mark Urassa
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Abstract

Receiving care from individuals other than one's mother (i.e., allomothering) is a universal aspect of raising children, but whether and how such care impacts children's health remains subject to debate. Existing studies in low-income societies largely use broad proxies for caregiving behaviors rather than measuring childcare activities, which may mask variation in allomothering and, thus, its impact on children's health. Using data collected to address these limitations we measure, for 808 children under 5 years in Northwestern Tanzania: (a) Maternal residence, (b) receipt of two childcare types from seven caregivers; and (c) children's growth (height-for-age and weight-for-height). We predict that (1) allomothering will be beneficial for children's growth and (2) benefits of allomothering will be most evident within mother nonresident households. We demonstrate that children receive care from a range of allomothers, even when mothers co-reside; and there are associations between care from different relatives. Receiving care from relatives of the same lineage tends to be positively associated, whereas care from fathers is negatively associated with care from maternal relatives. Maternal residence is not associated with child growth. We find little support for our predictions, with few and inconsistent associations between allomothering and child growth. Our findings suggest that our measures of care, while more nuanced than previous proxies, do not fully capture the complexity of caregiving. Pathways between allomothering and child growth may be further elucidated through more comprehensive care indicators, which specifically measure maternal need for help, and whether allomothering is in addition to, or substitutive of, maternal care.

Abstract Image

坦桑尼亚西北部儿童的照顾和成长:有限的证据表明,特定照顾者的支持与更好的成长有关
接受母亲以外的人的照顾(即非母亲照顾)是抚养儿童的一个普遍方面,但这种照顾是否以及如何影响儿童的健康仍然存在争议。低收入社会的现有研究主要使用广泛的照料行为替代指标,而不是衡量照料活动,这可能掩盖了照料行为的差异,从而掩盖了照料行为对儿童健康的影响。利用收集的数据来解决这些限制,我们对坦桑尼亚西北部808名5岁以下儿童进行了测量:(a)母亲居住;(b)从7名看护人那里获得两种托幼服务;(c)儿童生长(身高年龄比和体重身高比)。我们预测:(1)异养对儿童的成长有益;(2)异养的好处在母亲非居民家庭中最为明显。我们证明,即使母亲共同居住,儿童也能从各种各样的人那里得到照顾;来自不同亲属的照顾之间也存在关联。接受同系亲属的照顾往往与子女的健康状况呈正相关,而父亲的照顾与母亲亲属的照顾呈负相关。母亲居住地与儿童生长无关。我们发现很少有证据支持我们的预测,在异卵化和儿童成长之间很少有不一致的联系。我们的研究结果表明,我们的护理措施虽然比以前的代理更细致,但并不能完全反映护理的复杂性。可以通过更全面的护理指标进一步阐明异养与儿童生长之间的关系,这些指标具体衡量母亲对帮助的需求,以及异养是对母亲护理的补充还是替代。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.80
自引率
13.80%
发文量
124
审稿时长
4-8 weeks
期刊介绍: The American Journal of Human Biology is the Official Journal of the Human Biology Association. The American Journal of Human Biology is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed, internationally circulated journal that publishes reports of original research, theoretical articles and timely reviews, and brief communications in the interdisciplinary field of human biology. As the official journal of the Human Biology Association, the Journal also publishes abstracts of research presented at its annual scientific meeting and book reviews relevant to the field. The Journal seeks scholarly manuscripts that address all aspects of human biology, health, and disease, particularly those that stress comparative, developmental, ecological, or evolutionary perspectives. The transdisciplinary areas covered in the Journal include, but are not limited to, epidemiology, genetic variation, population biology and demography, physiology, anatomy, nutrition, growth and aging, physical performance, physical activity and fitness, ecology, and evolution, along with their interactions. The Journal publishes basic, applied, and methodologically oriented research from all areas, including measurement, analytical techniques and strategies, and computer applications in human biology. Like many other biologically oriented disciplines, the field of human biology has undergone considerable growth and diversification in recent years, and the expansion of the aims and scope of the Journal is a reflection of this growth and membership diversification. The Journal is committed to prompt review, and priority publication is given to manuscripts with novel or timely findings, and to manuscripts of unusual interest.
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