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Parental engagement in stimulating activities and the use of different discipline behaviors play a significant role in young children’s behavioral development. Psychological frameworks often posit that parental beliefs and psychological well-being are key drivers of these parental behaviors. However, the influence of parental beliefs and psychological well-being on these parenting behaviors, and consequently on children’s behavioral outcomes, remains understudied, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We collected primary data from 267 parents of young children (M age in months = 13.66; 52.06% girls) living in low-income households in Bogotá and Soacha, Colombia, and assessed how parental beliefs and psychological distress predict children’s behaviors through parental engagement in stimulation activities and use of violent punishment. Structural equation modeling indicated that positive parental beliefs about violence were linked to reduced engagement in stimulating activities, predicting lower child effortful control and positive affectivity, while parental psychological distress was associated with greater use of violent punishment, predicting lower effortful control and higher negative affectivity in children. These results underscore the importance of addressing parental beliefs and psychological well-being to support positive parenting behaviors and promote healthy behavioral development in young children, particularly in LMIC contexts.

Parental engagement in stimulating activities and the use of different discipline behaviors play a significant role in young children's behavioral development. Psychological frameworks often posit that parental beliefs and psychological well-being are key drivers of these parental behaviors. However, the influence of parental beliefs and psychological well-being on these parenting behaviors, and consequently on children's behavioral outcomes, remains understudied, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We collected primary data from 267 parents of young children (Mage in months = 13.66; 52.06% girls) living in low-income households in Bogotá and Soacha, Colombia, and assessed how parental beliefs and psychological distress predict children's behaviors through parental engagement in stimulation activities and use of violent punishment. Structural equation modeling indicated that positive parental beliefs about violence were linked to reduced engagement in stimulating activities, predicting lower child effortful control and positive affectivity, while parental psychological distress was associated with greater use of violent punishment, predicting lower effortful control and higher negative affectivity in children. These results underscore the importance of addressing parental beliefs and psychological well-being to support positive parenting behaviors and promote healthy behavioral development in young children, particularly in LMIC contexts.

Globally, studies have shown associations between maternal stimulation and early child development. Yet, little is known about the prevalence of paternal and other caregivers' stimulation practices, particularly in low- and- middle-income countries (LMICs). Data from the Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were combined across 62 LMICs (2010-2018). The sample included 205,150 mothers of children aged 3 and 4 years. High levels of stimulation were defined as caregiver engagement in at least 4 out of 6 possible activities with the child. The proportion of mothers, fathers, and other caregivers providing high levels of stimulation was calculated by country, region, and for the whole sample. Socioeconomic disparities within and between countries were estimated. On average, 39.8% (95% CI 37.4 to 42.2) of mothers, 11.9% (95% CI 10.1 to 13.8) of fathers, and 20.7% (95% CI 18.4 to 23.0) of other adult caregivers provided high levels of stimulation. Stimulation varied by region, country income group, and Human Development Index (HDI), with higher levels of maternal and paternal-but not other caregivers'-stimulation in high-income and high-HDI countries. Within countries, stimulation levels were, on average, lower in the poorest relative to the richest households, and some but not all countries exhibited differences by child sex (i.e., boys vs. girls) or area (i.e., urban vs. rural). Results suggest a need for intervention efforts that focus on increasing caregiver stimulation in LMICs, particularly for fathers and in low-income contexts.

Risk management represents a challenge for organizations, as it includes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues that can negatively impact organizations’ investments. This article shows a general approach for prioritizing organizational risks focused on sustainability, which is applied in a particular case. Based on the analysis of global reports such as the “Global Sustainable Development Report”, “Enterprise Risk Management-Integrating with Strategy and Performance”, and the “Global Risk Report”, five typologies of organizational risks with a focus on sustainability (geopolitical, economic, social, technological, and environmental) that support the concern for sustainability in organizations are characterized, taking into account viability and equitability. Additionally, some sub-risks are proposed for each characterized typology of risk. Subsequently, the application of paired surveys assigned to a group of experts formed by executives from the service sector, auditing and consulting firms, the oil and gas sector, the manufacturing sector, and the financial sector is carried out; the responses obtained are consolidated and used in this study as input for the application of DEMATEL and AHP methods to prioritize risks and sub-risks, respectively. The result obtained via the DEMATEL method is the following risk prioritization: (1) economic, (2) geopolitical, (3) social, (4) technological, and (5) environmental. Using the AHP method, the sustainability sub-risks with the highest level of prioritization for each typology of risk are (1) massive data fraud or theft incident (technological risk), (2) deficit in economic growth (economic risk), (3) water depletion (environmental risk), (4) lack of ethics in the conduct of business (geopolitical risk), and (5) chemical safety (social risk). The sensitivity analysis presents positive and negative values, indicating that the positive results do not generate substantial changes between the characterized sub-risks. On the other hand, the negative results indicate a notable decrease in the relative importance of the sub-risks. It is crucial to highlight that the observed variations remain within realistic limits and reflect the uncertainty inherent in decision-making in a dynamic environment.

BackgroundInequalities in early childhood development (ECD) tend to persist into adulthood and amplify across the life course. To date, little research on inequalities in early childhood care and development in low/middle-income countries has been available to guide governments, donors and civil society in identifying which young children and families should be targeted by policies and programmes to improve nurturing care that could prevent them from being left behind.MethodsUsing data from 135 Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys between 2010 and 2018, we assessed levels and trends of inequalities in exposure to risks of stunting or extreme poverty (under age 5; levels in 85 and trends in 40 countries), early attendance of early care and education programmes (36–59 months; 65 and 17 countries), home stimulation (36–59 months; 62 and 14 countries) and child development according to the Early Childhood Development Index (36–59 months; 60 and 13 countries). Inequalities within countries were measured as the absolute gap in three domains—child gender, household wealth and residential area—and compared across regions and country income groups.Results63% of children were not exposed to stunting or extreme poverty; 39% of 3–4-year olds attended early care and education; and 69% received a level of reported home stimulation defined as adequate. Sub-Saharan Africa had the lowest proportion of children not exposed to stunting or extreme poverty (45%), attending early care and education (24%) and receiving adequate home stimulation (47%). Substantial gaps in all indicators were found across country income groups, residential areas and household wealth categories. There were no significant reductions in gaps over time for a subset of countries with available data in two survey rounds.ConclusionsAvailable data indicate large inequalities in early experiences and outcomes. Efforts of reducing these inequalities must focus on the poorest families and those living in rural areas in the poorest countries. Improving and applying population-level measurements on ECD in more countries over time are important for ensuring equal opportunities for young children globally.

Prior research has established steep socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in children's cognitive skills at kindergarten entry. Yet, few studies have had comprehensive, multi-informant data to examine SES-related differences in foundational social and emotional skills and executive function. The objective of the current study is to systematically examine SES-related differences in young children's executive function (EF), self-regulation skills, and behaviors. The current study analyzed data on 2,309 young children from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H). Multi-method (direct-assessment and reports) and multi-informant (parents and early education and care educators) information on children's executive function, self-regulation skills, and internalizing, externalizing, and adaptive behaviors were used. A parametric framework employing Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimation was used to quantify the size of the SES-related differences in this set of children's foundational social-emotional skills. On average, there were differences of 0.24-0.45 SD for EF, 0.22-0.32 SD for self-regulation skills, and 0.27-0.54 SD for behaviors favoring children from the highest SES quartile of the distribution of SES relative to children from the lowest quartile. The SES-related differences were consistent across direct assessment, parent reports, and educator reports. Some differences were larger for older children relative to their younger counterparts.

This work was developed to identify the stratification and mixing pattern in the Hatillo reservoir, the largest reservoir in the Greater Antilles and the reservoir with the greatest water storage capacity in the Dominican Republic, built in 1984 in the lower basin of the Yuna River for electric power generation, irrigation district and flood control. Fifty-two diurnal vertical profiles of temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH in the limnetic zone of the reservoir from 2011 to 2021 were collected. Mixing is established when the difference between surface and bottom temperature is less than 1°C, that is, gradients less than 0.06°C per meter, total values of Relative Thermal Resistance to Mixing-RTR less than 40, that is, less than 1.8 per meter. The thermal monitoring carried out for ten years has allowed us to establish that the water masses of the reservoir remain thermally stratified most of the year, with annual mixing events lasting one month between December and March. The Hatillo reservoir is defined as a Warm Monomictic Lake according to the revision made by Lewis Jr. (1983a) to the classification of Hutchinson y Löffler (1956).

This study examined variation in the timing of 5,447 infants' and toddlers' reported acquisition of 12 basic social-emotional skills across and within 11 developing and developed country sites. Although children differed significantly across sites in when they attained social-emotional skills on average (e.g., M age Brazil = 20.50 months vs. M age India = 26.92 months), there was also substantial heterogeneity across skills. For example, children in Pakistan were reported to demonstrate sympathy on average seven months earlier than their peers in Ghana, whereas the opposite was true for sharing. Overall, country-level health and education were strongly associated (r > .60) with earlier site-level skill attainment. In addition to heterogeneity across sites, we also observed notable within-site variability in skill development (ICCs = .03 to .38). Future research is needed to identify sources of variability and how to promote skills that matter within a given context.

Most studies and reviews of studies on the developmental consequences of corporal punishment have focused on samples from the U.S. and other high-income countries. This study conducted a rapid review of the literature on the associations between corporal punishment and children’s cognitive and social-emotional development in low- and- middle-income countries (LMICs). Information from more than 42 studies of children younger than 18 years living in 64 LMICs was reviewed. Overall, the reviewed studies show associations between corporal punishment and negative cognitive and social-emotional outcomes, and there is no evidence that corporal punishment may relate to any positive developmental outcome in LMICs. Yet, issues of internal and external validity are common in the literature. The current evidence indicates that corporal punishment might increase the risk of detrimental child outcomes in LMICs, but further research with stronger methodological designs including samples from multiple settings is warranted.

ObjectiveEnding violence against children is critical to promote the health and socioemotional development of children across the globe. To this end, the UNICEF and the WHO have called for the abolishment of spanking, which is the most pervasive form of physical violence against children worldwide. This study used an ecological perspective to examine micro-level and macro-level predictors of parental spanking across 65 countries.ParticipantsData came from the fourth and fifth rounds of the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, which were administered between 2009 and 2017 (N=613 861 households). We examined the predictors of spanking using multilevel logistic regression analysis.ResultsMicro-level factors (ie, those observed at the familial level) were stronger predictors of spanking in comparison to macro-level factors (ie, those observed at the community and country level). Caregiver belief that children need physical punishment in order to be raised properly was the largest risk factor for spanking (OR=2.55, p<0.001). Older child age, the child being female, the head of the household having a secondary education or higher, and higher household wealth were protective factors against spanking, while a higher number of people living in the household was a risk factor for spanking. Living in an urban community was the only macro-level factor associated with spanking.ConclusionsIntervention at the micro-level and macro-level are important to reduce violence against children across the globe.