Associations between caregiver mental health and young children’s behaviour in a rural Kenyan sample

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic information (N = 497)

	N (child)	%
Caregiver education
No School	18	3.62%
Grades 1–6	105	21.13%
Grades 7–8	267	53.72%
Grades 9–10	33	6.64%
Grades 11–12	51	10.26%
Some secondary education	23	4.63%
Caregiver gender
Male	59	11.87%
Female	438	88.13%
Caregiver marital status
Unmarried	38	7.65%
Married
Monogamous union	337	67.81%
Polygamous union	122	24.55%
Caregiver relation to child
Biological mother	357	71.83%
Biological father	51	10.26%
Grandmother	56	11.27%
Other relative	33	6.64%
Household members
0–3	55	11.07%
5-Apr	210	42.25%
7-Jun	154	30.99%
8+	78	15.69%
Household monthly income
1 (0–2000 Ksh)	291	58.55%
2 (2001–5000 Ksh)	108	21.73%
3 (greater than 5000)	51	10.26%
Do not know/decline to answer	47	9.46%
Child Gender
Male	258	51.91%
Female	239	48.09%
Child age (months)
48–59	268	53.92%
60–71	229	46.08%
Do you ever leave child home alone?
Yes	168	33.80%
No	329	66.20%
Water source
Water on premises	21	4.23%
Water from community tap/public tank/well	246	49.50%
Water from a river	230	46.28%
Region
Bondo	172	34.61%
Homa Bay	190	38.23%
Kisumu	135	27.16%
Caregiver HIV status
Positive	111	22.33%
Negative	365	73.44%
NA	21	4.23%
Child HIV status
Positive	8	1.61%
Negative	396	79.68%
NA	93	18.71%
Electricity
Has electricity	63	12.68%
Does not have electricity	434	87.32%
Household items
Stove	133	26.76%
Cell phone	474	95.37%
Bicycle	169	34.00%
Radio	338	68.01%
Television	55	11.07%
Internet via phone	114	22.94%
Household income source
Earned income	470	94.57%
Community savings funds	185	37.22%
Other (grants, pensions, child support)	38	7.65%
SDQ Scores	Mean = 12.74	Standard dev = 5.58

Table 2. Prevalence of caregiver mental health symptoms

	Anxiety GAD-7 < 10 (% of total)	Anxiety GAD-7 ≥ 10 (% of total)	Sum (% of total)
Depression PHQ-9 < 10	220 (47.31%)	49 (10.54%)	269 (57.85%)
Depression PHQ-9 ≥ 10	95 (20.43%)	101 (21.72%)	196 (42.15%)
Sum (% of total)	315 (67.74%)	150 (32.36%)	465

Table 3. Depression variables regressed on child aggregate outcomes (univariate regression)

Outcome	Predictor	Estimate	Std Error	t-Value	p-Value
Child behaviour (SDQ, total difficulties score)	Anxiety (GAD-7)	0.31	0.05	6.01	<0.001
	Depression (PHQ-9)	0.26	0.05	5.23	<0.001
	Informal or formal support sought	−1.28	0.51	−2.52	0.01
	Parenting stress (PSI)	−0.19	0.03	−7.08	<0.001

Table 4. Multivariate linear regression with child behaviour (SDQ, total difficulties score) as outcome

Predictor	Estimate	Std. Error	t-Value	p-Value
Electricity	0.61	0.76	0.81	0.42
Cell phone ownership	−1.44	1.13	−1.28	0.20
Radio ownership	0.66	0.51	1.29	0.20
Television ownership	0.39	0.81	0.48	0.63
Number of household members	0.01	0.14	0.05	0.96
Child ever left home alone	−1.62	0.50	−3.26	0.001**
Number of siblings	−0.34	0.14	−2.32	0.02**
Anxiety (GAD-7)	0.17	0.06	2.68	0.01**
Depression (PHQ-9)	0.09	0.06	1.35	0.18
Parenting stress (PSI)	−0.14	0.03	−5.13	<0.001**
Informal or formal support sought	−0.71	0.49	−1.44	0.15

**p < 0.05.

Kariuki SM, Abubakar A, Murray E, et al. Evaluation of psychometric properties and factorial structure of the pre-school child behaviour checklist at the Kenyan Coast. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2016;10. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-015-0089-9

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