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Behaviour and Development of Stunted and Nonstunted Jamaican Children
Author(s) -
Gardner Julie M. Meeks,
GranthamMcGregor Sally M.,
Himes John,
Chang Susan
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/1469-7610.00497
Subject(s) - psychology , apathy , developmental psychology , stunted growth , psychosocial , mental development , cognition , medicine , psychiatry , malnutrition , pathology
In order to examine the mechanism whereby stunted children have poor developmental levels, we compared the behaviour of stunted ( N = 78) and nonstunted ( N = 26) children aged 12 to 24 months, and examined the relationship of their behaviour to their developmental levels. The effect of nutritional supplementation with or without psychosocial stimulation on the stunted children's behaviour was also examined. The children were observed at home during 4 days over a period of 6 months. The stunted children showed significantly more apathy, and less enthusiasm and variety in exploring, were less happy and more fussy. Caretakers’ vocalisations to them were less warm or instructive. Stunted children's activity level, exploratory and happy behaviours were predictive of change in developmental levels measured on the Griffiths Scales, from enrolment to 12 and 24 months later. Supplementation predicted mental age at 12 and 24 months after enrolment, however, it had no significant effect on behaviour.