Parent Psychological Well-Being, Home Learning Environment, and Child Development among Kenyan Families

Abstract

While child poverty is declining globally, many children in Sub-Saharan Africa still live in poverty and face obstacles that hinder them from achieving their full developmental potential. Parents’ psychological well-being has important influences on child development directly or indirectly through the home learning environment (HLE). Still, there is a lack of research on this topic from Sub-Saharan Africa. To fill this gap, the present study examined associations among parents’ psychological well-being, HLE, and children’s socioemotional and cognitive development, using a large sample of 1,633 parents (73% mothers; 88% married; 38% completed some secondary school) and their children (M age = 7.7 years) from Kenya. There were unique processes between different aspects of parents’ psychological well-being and child development: Parent depressive symptoms were directly associated with child development, whereas parent self-efficacy was directly and indirectly associated through HLE. The findings provide implications for developing family-focused preventive interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Child poverty is declining more quickly than the adult poverty rate across many countries (Fenz & Hamel, 2019). Even so, more than half of the world’s poor (e.g., those living below $1.90 (in 2011 USD Purchasing Power Parity [PPP] terms) per day) are children. Over three-quarters of these poor children – nearly 230 million children – reside in Africa (Fenz & Hamel, 2019) and are likely to be at risk of not reaching their full developmental potential (Black et al., 2017). Economic growth and urbanization have resulted in substantial changes in family dynamics in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya. Throughout the region, fertility and child mortality have declined in recent decades, while migration and population growth have increased the share of the population living in cities (Shapiro & Tenikue, 2017; World Bank, 2024). However, about 36% of the population still lives in poverty (World Bank, 2024), and many barriers that threaten the positive development and learning of children remain, including lack of resources, conflict, and climate-driven shocks (Black et al., 2017; United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF], 2018).

Parents’ psychological well-being may be particularly important for creating positive home environments and supporting child development in contexts where poverty and related adversities are common (Gavida-Payne et al., 2015). Psychological well-being is an overarching construct that encompasses various aspects of mental state, such as self-efficacy, mental health, sense of purpose, and personal growth (Ryff & Singer, 2008). It can impact parents’ decisions and interactions with their children, which may, in turn, influence child development (Dix & Meunier, 2009; Rutherford et al., 2015). For example, parents’ poor psychological well-being, such as depressive symptoms, is associated with fewer positive interactions with their children and children’s emotional problems (Galbally & Lewis, 2017). Parents’ psychological well-being is also related to child development indirectly through the home learning environment (HLE), including learning activities with their children (e.g., reading books, playing outside, or doing homework) and educational materials at home (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019). A more positive HLE, such as parents’ active involvement in learning activities and more time spent with children, is related to improved socioemotional and cognitive development (Bono et al., 2016; Glatz & Buchanan, 2015).

Parents in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), such as those in Sub-Saharan Africa, may disproportionately suffer from poor psychological well-being and may face substantial barriers to supporting their child’s development (Bajunirwe et al., 2018). Chronic poverty and financial stress can lead to and aggravate mental health issues, limiting individuals in their roles as parents and undermining child development and learning (Walker et al., 2011). Taken together, there is an urgent need to study how parents’ psychological well-being is associated with parenting practices and child development in LMICs. However, limited studies are available in these contexts, partly because detailed data on parents’ psychological well-being and child development are relatively rare. To address this gap, the present study examined associations among parents’ psychological well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms, self-efficacy), HLE, and children’s socioemotional and cognitive development, using a large sample of over 1,600 parents and children from Kenya.

Conceptual Framework

Belsky’s Process of Parenting model (1984) outlines three main domains that influence the quality of parenting: parent psychological resources, child characteristics, and contextual sources of stress and support. Parent psychological resources such as self-efficacy and mental well-being can lead to sensitive and responsive parent-child interactions and promote positive parent-child relationships. Contextual sources of stress and support include family socioeconomic status, family structure, and social network. This study examined how parent psychological resources, such as parent depressive symptoms and self-efficacy, are associated with children’s socioemotional and cognitive development through the HLE. We conceptualized family sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., income, education, marital status) as covariates in our model to isolate the effects of parent psychological resources on parenting and child outcomes.

Parent Depressive Symptoms, HLE, and Child Development

There are different ways parents’ well-being is associated with child outcomes. First, research suggests direct pathways between parents’ depressive symptoms and child development (Clifford et al., 2024; Urizar & Muñoz, 2022). For example, maternal depressive symptoms, characterized by negative mood and emotion and less positive emotion expression, can be directly transferred to children’s emotional well-being (Morrow et al., 2021). These symptoms could also directly affect child cognitive development (Cycyk et al., 2015; Liu et al., 2016). Depressed parents tend to have flat affect and low energy levels, which reduces opportunities for parents to model effective communication and for children to learn new vocabulary. In a study with preschoolers and their mothers from low-income households in the US, maternal depression was related to lower levels of language skills (Cycyk et al., 2015). Similarly, the results from a recent meta-analysis showed that after controlling for covariates, infants of mothers with depressive symptoms had significantly lower cognitive scores than those of mothers without depressive symptoms (Liu et al., 2016).

Second, there are indirect pathways between parents’ depressive symptoms and child development through undermining parenting practices or parent-child interactions. Parents experiencing depressive symptoms are less likely to engage in responsive and sensitive interactions and more likely to engage in inconsistent and irritable interactions due to emotional withdrawal and detachment (Chien & Mistry, 2013). When parents have difficulties regulating their negative emotions or experience heightened levels of negative emotions, they are less likely to engage in sensitive parenting, such as reading or playing with their children (Galbally & Lewis, 2017). A systematic review and meta-analysis examining 37 studies found a small but significant indirect path (r = .02) from maternal depressive symptoms to child functioning through parenting (Goodman et al., 2020). In this study, both positive and negative parenting behaviors were related to a wide range of child functioning, such as cognitive and socioemotional outcomes, attachment, and internalizing/externalizing symptoms. However, it is noteworthy that the effect size for the indirect path was much smaller than the direct path from parent depressive symptoms to child outcomes (r = .14).

In addition, experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms may reduce investments in learning materials and time spent with their children, which may lead to lower levels of academic and language outcomes in children. One study found that heightened levels of maternal depressive symptoms during infancy were associated with lower levels of emotional and material learning investment at age five years, which were, in turn, associated with poorer cognitive development at age 10 years (Wu et al., 2019). Conversely, a psychotherapy intervention reduced postnatal depressive symptoms among a sample of prenatally depressed women in rural Pakistan and improved time spent with children as well as money invested in children’s education seven years after the treatment (Baranov et al., 2020).

Research indicates that there is a high prevalence of depressive symptoms among parents in Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, in a study of individuals across four Sub-Saharan countries, one in three women exhibited depressive symptoms (Bajunirwe et al., 2018), which is significantly higher than the average rate of depressive symptoms in high-income countries (HIC; Lim et al., 2018). Specifically in Kenya, 53% of caregivers in a rural area reported depressive symptoms and anxiety above clinical cutoff levels (Laurenzi et al., 2021). Despite these statistics, only a handful of studies that speak to the relations between parent depressive symptoms and child outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa are available, with one study suggesting positive associations between caregivers’ mental health symptoms and child internalizing and externalizing problems among families living in rural Kenya (Laurenzi et al., 2021). Studies from HIC countries find that fathers’ depressive symptoms vary from 8.4% to 25.6% with the highest prevalence between 3–6 months postpartum (Cameron et al., 2016; Paulson & Bazemore, 2010), but less is known about the prevalence of fathers’ depressive symptoms and their associations with child development in LMICs (Jeong et al., 2024). Altogether, there is a need to better understand how mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms impact child development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Parent Self-Efficacy, HLE, and Child Development

Parents’ self-efficacy can have direct positive impacts on child development. Self-efficacy, a belief about one’s ability to achieve goals (Bandura, 1977), could help parents engage in more effective problem-solving and approach challenges with confidence. When applied to the parenting domain, parents with higher levels of self-efficacy may have a greater capacity to identify how they can best support their children even during challenging parenting situations (Ahun et al., 2024; Kong & Yasmin, 2022). A systematic review examining the role of self-efficacy found that when parents have higher levels of self-efficacy, their children have better cognitive functioning, school readiness, mental health, behavioral outcomes, and social competence (Albanese et al., 2019).

Parents with higher levels of self-efficacy may also help develop their children’s social competence through improved HLE (Bornstein et al., 2017). Among families living in poverty, parents exhibiting higher levels of self-efficacy and perceived control tend to report more positive HLE (Bojczyk et al., 2018; Peacock-Chambers et al., 2017). In turn, more positive HLE may promote improved behavioral outcomes in children. For example, the number of books and the frequency of shared book reading were associated with socioemotional development over time, including improved cooperative behavior, reduced physical aggression, and increased emotional self-regulation (Rose et al., 2018). Parents’ self-efficacy could be a significant protective factor for children with higher levels of behavioral difficulty in promoting socioemotional competence (Mouton et al., 2018).

Parents’ self-efficacy may also indirectly promote children’s cognitive and academic outcomes by increasing their involvement at home and time spent with their children. For example, parents’ self-efficacy is related to children’s math scores and vocabulary skills through improved HLE, including parents’ reading with children and helping with homework (Bojczyk et al., 2018; Liu & Leighton, 2021). However, to date, few studies have explored the indirect effect of self-efficacy through the HLE on children’s socioemotional and cognitive development in LMICs such as Kenya.

Kenya as a Cultural Context for the Study

Kenya has a population of nearly 55 million (with over 20 million below age 14 years), and characteristics broadly representative of much of Sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya reflects the Sub-Saharan African average in terms of many key indicators such as poverty rates, gross domestic product (GDP, a measure of economic well-being), and life expectancy (World Bank, 2024), each of which has improved substantially in recent decades. One key difference, however, is that fertility has declined more rapidly in Kenya in recent decades than in other Sub-Saharan African countries (Kenya National Bureau of Statistics [KNBS] & ICF, 2023; World Bank, 2024). Marriage rates in Kenya are high, with only 2.5% of men and 4.8% of women aged 40–45 having never been married (KNBS & ICF, 2023). Though declining over time, polygyny is relatively common, with around 10% of currently married women being one of several co-wives (KNBS & ICF, 2023). In addition, Kenya represents a very education-oriented society, with most parents supporting primary and secondary education. Primary school enrollment is nearly universal, and though still not universal, secondary school enrollment is rising (UNICEF, 2018; World Bank, 2024).

Although traditionally, fathers have been viewed as the patriarchal head of the family in sub-Saharan African cultures (Mugadza et al., 2019), more recently, fathers are increasingly involved in caregiving activities (Ejuu, 2016). While mothers may still engage in more learning activities with their children at home compared to fathers (Liu & Chung, 2022), the nature of mothers’ learning activities versus fathers’ learning activities may differ, resulting in differential impacts on child development. Single parenting is increasing in Kenya, especially among mothers, and single parents are often disconnected from family support and experience greater financial struggles (Mbithi, 2019). Thus, the nature and impact of HLE may differ between single-parent families and traditional two-parent families. Other family characteristics, such as geographical location and number of family members in the household, can also influence HLE and child development. For example, many Kenyan families live in rural areas and tend to have a bigger family size and less access to services and resources (Odimegwu et al., 2018). Bigger family size is associated with more negative child educational outcomes due to credit and time constraints in LMICs (Ponczek & Souza, 2012).

The Present Study

Despite the importance of the HLE on child development, little is known about how parents’ psychological well-being contributes to children’s socioemotional and cognitive development in LMICs. In addition, it is unclear whether the associations between parent well-being, HLE, and child development may differ based on family characteristics, such as parent gender, marital status, urban residence, and family size. To fill the gap in the literature on the associations among parental well-being, parenting practice, and child developmental outcomes in LMICs, the current study explored how two aspects of parent psychological well-being, depressive symptoms and self-efficacy, are associated with socioemotional and cognitive development among school-aged children living in Kenya, directly and indirectly through the HLE. The study used a cross-sectional path analysis to explore these associations, utilizing detailed data on households, parents, and children within the sample to reduce the risk of confounding from omitted factors.

This study sought to answer three research questions. First, are parent depressive symptoms associated with child socioemotional and cognitive development, and does HLE mediate the association between parent depressive symptoms and child development? We hypothesized that parent depressive symptoms are negatively associated with HLE, which, in turn, is positively associated with child socioemotional and cognitive development. Given the literature supporting the direct association between parent depressive symptoms and child development, we also hypothesized that parent depressive symptoms are directly and negatively associated with child socioemotional and cognitive development. Second, is parent self-efficacy associated with child socioemotional and cognitive development, and does HLE mediate the association between parent self-efficacy and child development? We hypothesized that parent self-efficacy is positively associated with HLE, which, in turn, is positively associated with child socioemotional and cognitive development. We also hypothesized that parent self-efficacy is directly and positively associated with child socioemotional and cognitive development. Third, are the above associations moderated by family characteristics, such as parent gender, marital status, urban residence, and family size? We hypothesized that the associations are likely robust across families with different sociodemographic characteristics.

Method

This study conducted a secondary cross-sectional analysis using data from the Kenya Life Panel Survey (KLPS), a longitudinal survey tracking over 7,000 adult respondents for over 20 years. We used data from the fourth round of KLPS (KLPS-4), which included measures of parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child socioemotional and cognitive development, for a large sample of over 1,600 parent-child pairs. The KLPS sample is representative of much of Kenya’s and other Sub-Saharan African country populations (Walker et al., 2023; see Appendix B). The study’s tracking approach allows for including respondents from across the country (see discussion in Hamory et al., 2021). KLPS features high effective tracking rates under a two-stage design (one “regular,” one “intensive”). In KLPS-4, effective tracking rates were 87%, and effective survey rates among those still alive were 84% (Hamory et al., 2021). Institutional Review Board approval for KLPS was granted by Maseno University and the University of California, Berkeley. The sample and all data collection procedures are documented in three studies (Duhon et al., 2024; Fernald et al., 2019; Miguel et al., 2023).

Sample

The adult sample was drawn from a population of individuals tracked as part of the KLPS (see Figure 1 for details about the sample selection process). These individuals initially participated in either a Primary School Deworming Project starting in 1998 (PSDP; over 90% of the sample, Miguel & Kremer, 2004) or a Girls’ Scholarship Program starting in 2001 (GSP; less than 10% of the sample, Kremer et al., 2009). PSDP participants were eligible for inclusion as primary school students in Kenya’s Busia district. GSP participants were eligible for participation in the scholarship program based on their academic performance as 6th graders in the Busia district.

Figure 1. Sample Selection Flow Chart.

In KLPS-4, data were also collected for biological children of the adult sample, including no more than one child between the ages of 6 and 8. For this sample of primary-school-aged children, measures of cognitive development in math, language, and executive function were taken using standard assessments (see more details in the Measures section). The present study focused only on the 60% of children for whom the KLPS respondent (in contrast to another family member, e.g., a spouse or grandparent) was surveyed as the child’s designated primary caregiver because measures of self-efficacy are only available for the primary KLPS respondent. Relative to the full sample, which also includes children of non-KLPS respondent caregivers, the resulting sample of 1,633 child-parent pairs came from households with lower per capita consumption that were slightly more likely to be rural and to have a bigger household size. The child sample was 49% female, with an average age of 7.7 years. Approximately 29% lived in urban settings, and 71% lived in households with five or more members (the median household size was 5 members, and the median number of children per household was 4). Families reported annual per capita consumption of $1,327 (in 2017 USD PPP terms).

Parents included in the sample were primarily mothers (73%). Eighty-eight percent of parents were currently married (18% of mothers were in polygamous marriages). Parents had completed an average of 8.8 years of education, with nearly 38% reporting having completed some secondary school. In cases where the father completed the primary caregiver survey, households were smaller in size, more likely to be urban, and to have higher per capita consumption. Fathers had marginally more years of education than mothers, though this may reflect patterns in the general population in Kenya.

Procedures

Data for KLPS-4 were collected in two representative waves spanning 2018 to 2021. Wave 1 took place from October 2018 to March 2020. Wave 2 took place from January 2021 to December 2021. Children surveyed in Wave 2 were assessed after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, which involved approximately nine months of complete school closures during 2020. Research based on this sample found a decline in cognitive performance among children surveyed in Wave 2 relative to Wave 1, with no significant differences in socioemotional development (Duhon et al., 2024). Data collection continued in the post-COVID period (during 2021) with some precautions, including that enumerators sanitized their hands and any materials the child would use (e.g., pencils) and that the enumerator, parent, and child each wore masks and sat at least 1.5 meters apart. Cognitive assessments and non-cognitive scales were adapted to the local context based on extensive piloting. This included translating assessments into Swahili and making context-relevant adjustments, such as exchanging images of pears for images of mangos or replacing the “Hearts and Flowers” executive function task with a “Stars and Flowers” task. Enumerators were trained for multiple weeks before the start of data collection. The training involved instruction and demonstrations in a classroom setting, peer practice, and feedback sessions. Research managers and senior field officers oversaw the training, with input from a child development specialist in person and based on video review. As needed, refresher training also took place.

The parent survey and child assessments were primarily conducted in person at the families’ homes. Enumerators would sit with the child and ensure the child was comfortable before proceeding with the evaluation. In over 95% of cases, assessments were conducted in Swahili, with the remainder (less than 5%) conducted in English, Luo, or Luhya. Enumerators recorded responses using tablet-based software, except for the Promoting Learning, Understanding Self-Regulation – Executive Function assessment (PLUS-EF), which children completed on the tablet themselves (see the Measures section for more details). The assessments took approximately one hour to complete. Children were given a notebook, pencil, and eraser as a gift after the survey.

The parent survey was administered during an in-person interview (where trained enumerators recorded responses on a tablet) and took approximately 45 minutes to complete. In Wave 1, parents were given a gift of useful household goods, such as sugar, valued at approximately 150 Kenyan Shillings as an incentive. In Wave 2, parents were given 150 Kenyan Shillings by mobile money transfer. Whenever possible, the parent survey and child assessments were completed on the same visit; sometimes these two surveys occurred on different days due to child and/or parent availability.

Measures

The data came from three sources. First, family demographic information such as household earnings, consumption, and urban status, as well as parent depressive symptoms and self-efficacy, were collected in separate adult surveys. Second, HLE and child socioemotional development measures were collected as part of an in-person primary caregiver survey. Third, measures of child cognitive development capturing language abilities, math and spatial abilities, and executive functioning were collected as part of an extensive battery of assessments.

Parent Psychological Well-Being

Parent Depressive Symptoms.

Parent depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Short Form (CESD-10; Andresen et al., 1994). The ten-item CESD asked parents to report how much they agreed with statements such as “I was bothered by things that usually don’t bother me,” “I felt depressed,” or “I felt that everything I did was an effort” based on their experiences over the past week. All items were reported on a 4-point Likert scale with response options ranging from 0 = none to 3 = all of the time (α = .75). Scores of at least 10 on the resulting 30-point scale are considered consistent with clinical depression.

Parent Self-Efficacy.

Parent self-efficacy was assessed using the ten-item Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE; Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995). Parents were asked to report on their overall self-efficacy, such as “It is easy for me to stick to my aims and accomplish my goals” or “I can solve most problems if I invest the necessary effort.” All items were reported on a 4-point Likert scale with response options ranging from 1 = not at all true to 4 = completely true (α = .82).

HLE

HLE was measured using an index that captures engagement in home learning activities and the number of children’s books in the household, consistent with previous studies (Tamis-LeMonda et al., 2019).

Home Learning Activities.

Home learning activities were measured using caregiver reports of participation in a 12-item list adapted from multiple studies (Bradley et al., 2001; Hamadani et al., 2010; Kariger et al., 2012; Özler et al., 2018; Prado et al., 2016; UNICEF, 2015). Sample items included whether the parent (or another person over age 15 years) “read books to or looked at books with the child,” “sang songs or played a musical instrument with the child,” and “talked about what the child was learning in school” over the past 7 days with 0 = no and 1 = yes (α = .81). Indicators for any participation in any 12 activities over the last seven days were summed, then standardized relative to Wave 1 (by subtracting Wave 1 mean and dividing by Wave 1 standard deviation), consistent with other analyses using these data.

Number of Children’s Books.

The number of children’s books in the household was measured by asking, “How many storybooks or picture books are in [child]’s home?” As with the home learning activities index, the number of children’s books in the home was standardized relative to the mean in Wave 1. Then, the HLE index was constructed by summing the standardized measure of home learning activities and the standardized measure of the number of children’s books, then re-standardizing relative to the mean in Wave 1.

Child Developmental Outcomes

Socioemotional Development.

Socioemotional difficulties and prosocial behaviors were measured using a total difficulties score and prosocial subscale from the 25-item Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ; Goodman, 1997). The total difficulties score was constructed by summing over four subscales capturing emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems (α = .69). Parents were asked whether 20 statements about the child (five per subscale) such as “rather solitary, prefers to play alone” (peer problems scale) and “many fears, easily scared” (emotional symptoms scale). All items were on a 3-point Likert scale with response options ranging from 0 = not true to 2 = certainly true. The prosocial score was derived from a subscale with five items (α = 0.62; Goodman, 1997). Sample items included, “considerate of other people’s feelings,” and “kind to younger children,” rated on a 3-point Likert scale with response options ranging from 0 = not true to 2 = certainly true. SDQ has been used in diverse contexts in Africa and has demonstrated potential as a useful tool to screen for child mental health problems (Hoosen et al., 2018).

Cognitive Development.

Child cognitive development was assessed within three domains: math, language, and executive function. Math skills were assessed using the Early Grade Math Assessment (EGMA; Platas et al., 2014), a standard assessment that measures early-grade numeracy and math skills. EGMA was developed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in partnership with RTI International and has been used in numerous international contexts (including Kenya) since 2008 (Platas et al., 2014). EGMA consists of six sections that assess 1) number knowledge: number identification, number discrimination, and missing number (α = .82–.96) and 2) addition and subtraction: single digit addition and subtraction, double-digit addition and subtraction, and word problems (α = .68–.92).

Language skills were assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT; Dunn & Dunn, 2007), the Early Grade Reading Assessment in Swahili (EGRA-Swahili; Gove & Wetterberg, 2011), and the Early Grade Reading Assessment in English (EGRA-English; Gove & Wetterberg, 2011). The PPVT is a widely used assessment of receptive vocabulary; the PPVT and related assessments have been successfully used in various international contexts, including Kenya (Knauer et al., 2019; Ozier, 2018). The PPVT assessment included 88 trials across eight sections where children were verbally prompted to identify a specific item from a selection of four images (α = .87). Prompts and images were adapted to the local context where necessary, and the assessment was administered without stopping rules (as an exception, if children did not complete a minimum number of practice trials, the PPVT assessment did not proceed). EGRA-Swahili and EGRA-English are standard assessments measuring child literacy and reading skills and have been used in numerous international contexts (including Kenya) since their development in 2006 (Gove & Wetterberg, 2011). For EGRA-Swahili, the complete assessment was administered including six sections testing sound recognition, syllable knowledge, word decoding, word recognition, oral passage reading, reading comprehension, and oral comprehension (α = .53–.98). For EGRA-English, only two of the sections were administered (for efficiency and to save time), oral passage reading and reading comprehension, and only for children aged 7–8 years as children start learning English in school in grade 4 (α = .45–.99).

Executive function was assessed using a forward digit span task (UNESCO, 2017) and the Multi-Source Interference Test (MSIT) subtask of the PLUS-EF (Obradović et al., 2018). The forward digit span assessed the number of digits a child can repeat immediately following their oral presentation and consisted of four items ranging from two to five digits, with the final score reflecting the count of correct items (α = .48). The forward digit span task (one of several assessments included in the Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes (MELQO) assessment tool) has been used in multiple international contexts, including Kenya (UNICEF, 2017). To develop accurate and useful measurements of children’s learning and development globally, the MELQO measurements were developed by identifying common items across all existing assessments across different countries. Compared to the MELQO measurements of literacy and math skills, there were very few common items across all existing assessments for executive function, which may have resulted in lower reliability in the current study (UNESCO, 2017). The PLUS-EF assessment is more novel in the Kenyan context and requires both custom software and extensive piloting and refining in the field. The PLUS-EF assessment was administered on a tablet using custom software, where children would interact directly with the tablet using a game-like interface. The MSIT subtask consisted of a series of 48 timed trials, where children had to identify the non-matching digit out of three digits quickly. Separate accuracy scores (fraction of items answered correctly) were computed for the 24 “congruent” tasks, or tasks with intuitive, natural rules, and 24 “incongruent” tasks, or tasks with counterintuitive rules that require a switch from previous rules (Davidson, 2006; α = .89–.94).

Scores for each assessment were combined into math, language, and executive function sub-indices, which in turn were combined into an overall cognitive development index. First, raw scores on each assessment were standardized by subtracting the mean score (from Wave 1, and within gender and 6-month age bins), then dividing by the standard deviation (from Wave 1, and within gender and 6-month age bins) so that scores can be interpreted in standard deviation units, and relative to other children of the same gender and similar age, assessed in Wave 1 (before the COVID pandemic). Standardization was done relative to Wave 1 since there were substantial declines in performance in Wave 2 (post-COVID) relative to Wave 1 and to maintain consistency with other analyses using this data. Standardized assessment scores were then summed and re-standardized in the same way to construct domain-specific sub-indices. For example, standardized PPVT, EGRA-Swahili, and EGRA-English scores were summed and then re-standardized to construct the language sub-index. Finally, the math, language, and executive function indexes were combined into an overall cognitive development index by summing and then re-standardizing in the same way. A related study using the same data followed the same convention (Duhon et al., 2024; Fernald et al., 2019). The correlations between all sub-indices were moderate to strong (r = .52–.81).

Study Covariates

Three sets of covariates were included to account for factors that may influence child developmental outcomes. The first set captured family sociodemographic characteristics, including the log of per capita household consumption (in 2017 USD PPP), parent education (in years), whether the parent is female versus male, whether the parent is married versus single, urban residence status, and whether the child lives in a household with five or more members versus less than five members. The median number of household members was five, providing a natural threshold. A total number of household members (rather than the number of children) was used since households consisting of more than immediate family members were relatively common. Indicators for whether children live in households with five or more members were constructed based on household rosters. Per capita household consumption served as a proxy for household economic circumstances. These measures were each collected in earlier adult surveys, separate from the primary caregiver survey, and with imperfectly overlapping samples; given this, these covariates were missing for nearly 15% of the sample used for the present study. Parent education was the number of years of schooling attended, as per the most recent round of data collection, and indicators for whether the parent is married were based on parent responses in an earlier survey. These measures were non-missing for most of the sample (99.75% for education and 97% for marital status).

The second set of covariates was related to the survey design and cross-cutting prior human capital interventions. The original study features cross-cutting variation in randomized exposure to childhood deworming through the PSDP or educational scholarships through the GSP and two other cross-cutting treatment interventions (Vocational Education and Start-up Capital; see Figure 1). Greater exposure to childhood deworming through the PSDP had positive causal impacts on various short-run and long-run outcomes such as educational attainment, urban residence, consumption, and earnings in the parent generation (Baird et al., 2016; Hamory et al., 2021; Miguel & Kremer, 2004). Recent research has also estimated positive causal effects of childhood deworming (through the PSDP) on child survival (Walker et al., 2023), parent psychological well-being, and child health, socioemotional development, and cognition in the next generation (Duhon et al., 2024). The current study included indicators for assignment to the treatment group for the four cross-cutting human capital interventions as covariates to account for differences in child socioemotional and cognitive development due to these prior interventions. Results are very similar when additionally including a more robust set of treatment-related covariates, namely, indicators for inclusion in the various intervention samples; in the interest of parsimony, the model was estimated, including the more limited set of four treatment-related variables above.

Finally, the current study included an indicator for assignment to Wave 2 as a covariate to account for any differences in child development outcomes across waves. For example, children may have had differential exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic or other trends.

Study Moderators

In addition to including family sociodemographic characteristics as study covariates, four variables described above were used as study moderators. The study moderators included whether the parent was a male or a female, whether the parent was married versus single, whether the family lived in an urban or rural area, and whether the child lived in a household with five or more members or less than five members. These variables were included as study moderators based on the literature suggesting that the associations between parent psychological functioning, HLE, and child development may differ based on these family sociodemographic characteristics. For example, father involvement in African contexts has increased in recent years, and fathers’ learning activities tend to differ from mothers’ learning activities with their children (Ejuu, 2016), which may affect children differently. Increasing single mothers in Kenya tend to experience more financial hardship and less social support (Mbithi, 2019), and their psychological functioning may have a more direct and amplified effect on HLE and child development. Other characteristics, such as living in a rural area and having a larger family are also associated with reduced access to financial resources and investment in child education (Odimegwu et al., 2018; Ponczek & Souza, 2012) and could exacerbate the negative effects of parent depression on child development. Thus, these sociodemographic characteristics were included as moderators to test whether the associations between study variables are comparable across families with varying ranges of family dynamics and resource availability.

Data Analyses

Data analyses were conducted in three stages. First, descriptive statistics, including the means, standard deviations, and ranges of study variables, were computed using Stata (version 18; StataCorp, 2023). We also examined correlations among the study variables and sociodemographic covariates. All analyses used sample population weights to maintain the representativeness of the original adult sample population, further adjusted for total fertility to provide a representative sample of the child generation.

Second, we estimated a path model to test the associations among parent psychological well-being (depressive symptoms and self-efficacy), HLE, and child development (socioemotional difficulties, prosocial behaviors, and cognitive development). To test mediation, a path model was estimated in which parent psychological well-being predicted HLE, and HLE predicted child development. The model included direct paths between parent psychological well-being and child development and correlations among all exogenous variables. Because multiple constructs capturing parent psychological well-being, such as depressive symptoms and self-efficacy, are interrelated, these predictors were included in the same model. Likewise, child socioemotional difficulties, prosocial behaviors, and cognitive development co-develop, collectively offering a comprehensive view of child development, so these three outcomes were included in the same path model. The path model was estimated using the latent variable analysis project of R. Full-information maximum-likelihood procedures were used to minimize bias due to missing data, which estimates a likelihood function based on all available data instead of imputing missing values (Schafer & Graham, 2002).

Based on previous research, this study relied on multiple indicators of model fit, such as the standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR), which should be close to 0.08 or lower; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), which should be close to 0.06 or lower; and the comparative fit index (CFI), which should be close to 0.95 or higher (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Given the use of cross-sectional data for mediation analysis, we followed best practices, which includes using a product of coefficients approach (Cerin & MacKinnon, 2009). The coefficients representing a path from the predictor to the mediator and a path from the mediator to the outcome variable were multiplied to estimate the indirect effect, and then the Sobel test was conducted to ascertain the standard error of this indirect effect.

In the path model, we also included family sociodemographic variables as independent variables predicting child socioemotional and cognitive development. This approach allowed us to examine associations between HLE and child development while controlling for some potentially influential confounds. These included household consumption, parent education, parent gender, parent marital status, urban residence, and family size (whether the household had five or more members). Household consumption and parent education were added as covariates in the path from parent psychological well-being to HLE. In addition, four treatment-assignment indicators (corresponding to earlier cross-cutting interventions) and a time variable indicating whether the data were collected in Wave 2 were included as covariates.

Third, we conducted multigroup analysis to test whether the associations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child development were similar or different across families based on parent gender, parent marital status, urban residence, and family size. For each potential moderator, a path model was estimated in which the relations were allowed to vary across subgroups, and another path model was estimated in which those relations were constrained to be equal across subgroups. Chi-square difference tests were used to determine better model fit, whereby significant differences indicated that the associations were different across subgroups.

Results

Descriptive statistics, including the means, standard deviations, and ranges of study variables, are provided in Table 1. Correlations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, child socioemotional and cognitive development, and study covariates, including family sociodemographic characteristics, are provided in Table 2. About 39% of parents (both mothers and fathers) exhibited symptoms consistent with clinical depression, with similar rates across mothers and fathers. Parent depressive symptoms and self-efficacy were negatively correlated. Child cognitive development was positively correlated with prosocial behaviors and negatively correlated with socioemotional difficulties. Child prosocial behaviors were negatively correlated with socioemotional difficulties. Sociodemographic characteristics such as household consumption and parent education were positively correlated with child cognitive development and prosocial behaviors, with a strong positive correlation between urban residence and cognitive development. Although we used cross-sectional analysis, including these sociodemographic characteristics as covariates in the model allowed us to control for these important determinants of child socioemotional difficulties, prosocial behaviors, and cognitive development.

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics

	M	SD	Min	Max	N
Parent Psychological Well-Being
Depressive symptoms	8.46	5.43	0	29	1,633
Self-efficacy	3.33	0.51	1	4	1,608
HLE
Read or look at books with child	0.52	0.50	0	1	1,633
Tells stories to child	0.31	0.46	0	1	1,633
Sings songs or plays instruments with child	0.28	0.45	0	1	1,633
Plays with child	0.29	0.46	0	1	1,633
Constructs objects or art with child	0.15	0.36	0	1	1,633
Names, counts, or draws things with child	0.40	0.49	0	1	1,633
Helps child with homework	0.47	0.50	0	1	1,633
Talks with child about what he/she is learning	0.58	0.49	0	1	1,633
Teaches child vocabulary words in English or Swahili	0.41	0.49	0	1	1,633
Teaches child vocabulary words in local language	0.29	0.45	0	1	1,633
Plays sports or other physical activity with child	0.15	0.35	0	1	1,633
Takes child on a fun outing	0.21	0.40	0	1	1,633
Number of children’s books in the household	1.84	2.44	0	50	1,633
Socioemotional Development
Emotional symptoms scale	6.88	2.39	0	10	1,633
Conduct problems scale	8.34	1.72	2	10	1,633
Hyperactive scale	6.01	2.17	0	10	1,633
Peer problems scale	7.72	1.65	0	10	1,633
Prosocial scale	7.98	2.04	0	10	1,633
Cognitive Development
EGMA percentage score	27.26	22.64	0	96	1,633
EGRA Swahili percentage score	22.87	22.73	0	98	1,633
EGRA English percentage score	24.16	34.26	0	100	1,159
PPVT count correct (out of 91)	53.66	11.56	0	87	1,633
Forward digit span count correct (out of 4)	2.91	0.89	0	4	1,633
PLUS-EF MSIT percentage score	66.52	23.82	0	100	1,572
Sociodemographic Characteristics
Household per capita consumption (2017 USD PPP)	1327	1208	69	12,795	1,399
Parent education (years)	8.77	2.98	2	16	1,629
Parent female	0.73	0.44	0	1	1,633
Married	0.88	0.32	0	1	1,584
Urban residence	0.29	0.46	0	1	1,597
Household size 5 or more	0.71	0.45	0	1	1,406

Note. HLE = Home Learning Environment. EGMA = Early Grade Math Assessment. EGRA = Early Grade Reading Assessment. PPVT = Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. PLUS-EF MSIT = Promoting Learning, Understanding Self-Regulation – Executive Function.

Table 2.

Correlations among Study Variables

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1. Depressive symptoms
2. Self-efficacy	−.06**
3. HLE	−.08***	.15***
4. Socioemotional difficulties	.21***	−.06**	−.06**
5. Prosocial behaviors	−.05*	.16***	.11***	−.20***
6. Cognitive development	−.16***	.12***	.19***	−.20***	.13***
Study Covariates
Household consumption	−.05*	.16***	.22***	−.03	.11***	.29***
Parent education	−.18***	.13***	.18***	−.11***	.05**	.24***
Parent female	.02	−.10***	−.05**	.08***	−.07***	.00
Married	−.07*	.08***	.08***	−.01	.01	.03
Urban residence	−.11***	.10***	.15***	−.07***	.06**	.34***
Household size 5 or more	.05*	−.02	−.08***	.05*	−.03	−.20***
Deworming treatment	−.03	−.09***	.03	−.02	−.01	−.01
Girls scholarship treatment	−.02	.04	−.02	−.05**	−.02	.01
Vocational Edu treatment	−.02	−.01	−.02	−.01	−.00	−.01
Start-up capital treatment	.02	.00	.02	−.02	.00	−.01
Assigned to Wave 2 tracking	−.12***	.02	.10***	−.09***	.04	−.09***

Note.

^*p <.05

^**p <.01

^***p <.001.

HLE = Home Learning Environment.

Parent Depressive Symptoms, HLE, and Child Development

The results of the final path model estimated are shown in Figure 2. The path model represented an acceptable fit to the data with χ² = 42.94 (9), p < .001; SRMR = .01; RMSEA = .05; and CFI = .96. Parent depressive symptoms were directly and positively associated with child socioemotional difficulties, β = .18, p < .001. Parent depressive symptoms were directly and negatively associated with child cognitive development, β = −.10, p < .001. However, parent depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with child prosocial behaviors, β = −.03, p = .31. Parent depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with HLE, β = −.04, p = .09. The indirect paths from parent depressive symptoms to child socioemotional and cognitive development through HLE were also not significant.

Figure 2. Associations among Parent Psychological Well-Being, HLE, and Child Development.

Notes. All paths presented in the figure are standardized coefficients. Significant paths are shown in solid lines and non-significant paths are shown in dotted lines in the figure. Although not depicted, the path model included sociodemographic and treatment-related covariates as well as correlations among all exogenous variables.

Parent Self-Efficacy, HLE, and Child Development

Parent self-efficacy was directly and positively associated with child prosocial behaviors, β = .13, p < .001. However, parent self-efficacy was not significantly associated with child socioemotional difficulties and cognitive development, β = −.03, p = .17 and β = .04, p = .07 respectively. Parent self-efficacy was positively associated with HLE, β = .11, p < .001. In turn, HLE was positively associated with prosocial behaviors and cognitive development, β = .06, p = .02, and β = .10, p < .001, respectively. HLE was not significantly associated with socioemotional difficulties, β = −.02, p = .36. Joint tests of significance showed that the indirect path from parent self-efficacy to prosocial behaviors through HLE was small but significant, β = .01, p = .03. The Sobel test indicated that this indirect path is significant, z = 2.74, p = .006. The indirect path from parent self-efficacy to cognitive development through HLE was also small but significant, β = .01, p = .003. The Sobel test indicated this indirect path is significant, z = 4.83, p < .001.

Robustness of Associations across Families with Different Characteristics

In the third stage of the data analysis, chi-square difference tests were conducted to see whether the eleven primary associations in the path model were comparable across families with different characteristics. There was no statistically significant difference between the two models where parameter estimates among parents’ psychological well-being, HLE, and child development were allowed to vary or were constrained to be equal across parent gender, χ² (11) = 11.39, p = .41. This study found similar levels of depressive symptoms across mothers and fathers, and the primary associations in the path model were also similar for mothers and fathers. Similarly, there were no statistically significant differences between models where the associations were allowed to vary or were constrained across subgroups by parent marital status, χ² (11) = 15.38, p = .17, and urban residence, χ² (11) = 14.40, p = .21. There was a statistically significant difference by family size, χ² (11) = 20.82, p = .04. Larger families had a stronger association between HLE and socioemotional difficulties whereas smaller families had a stronger association between HLE and prosocial behaviors. In addition, there were differences in the associations between parent self-efficacy and child outcomes, such as prosocial behaviors and cognitive development. In larger families, the association between parent self-efficacy and prosocial behavior was significant, β = .10, p = .02. In contrast, the association between parent self-efficacy and cognitive development was not significant, β = .04, p = .37. Conversely, in smaller families, the association between parent self-efficacy and prosocial behavior was not significant, β = .10, p = .11. In contrast, the association between parent self-efficacy and cognitive development was marginally significant, β = .09, p = .09.

Discussion

This study examined the associations between parents’ psychological well-being, HLE, and child socioemotional and cognitive development among families living in Kenya. Parent depressive symptoms were directly associated with child socioemotional difficulties and cognitive development but not indirectly associated through HLE. On the other hand, parent self-efficacy was directly associated with child prosocial behaviors and indirectly associated with child prosocial behaviors and cognitive development through HLE. The effect sizes found in this study were considered small, which is consistent with other studies that examined the direct and indirect effects of parent depressive symptoms on child development (Goodman et al., 2020). The results from our study suggest unique processes between different aspects of parents’ psychological well-being and development among school-aged children, including socioemotional and cognitive skills that lay the foundation for their future academic and emotional well-being. While we cannot rule out confounding, and these results cannot be interpreted as causal, the findings from this study provide important implications for informing family-focused interventions in LMIC contexts.

Parent Depressive Symptoms, HLE, and Child Development

Thirty-nine percent of the parents in our study exhibited symptoms consistent with clinical depression, a figure significantly higher than the corresponding prevalence rates in HICs. This finding is consistent with previous studies that found pervasive depressive symptoms in LMICs (Bajunirwe et al., 2018; Laurenzi et al., 2021). Our study extends the previous literature by including fathers in our sample, who experienced similar rates of depressive symptoms to mothers but have not received much attention in the literature. This suggests that not only maternal depressive symptoms, but also paternal depressive symptoms matter for child development in Kenya, and there is a strong need to provide accessible and effective mental health services for both mothers and fathers living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The hypothesis on the direct association between parent depressive symptoms and child development was supported. We found that parental depressive symptoms were positively associated with socioemotional difficulties and negatively associated with cognitive development, which is consistent with another study that found negative associations between maternal psychological distress and socioemotional development among families living in Kenya (Watts 2016). Children whose caregivers experience depressive symptoms may be directly impacted by, or learn from, negative mood and behavioral modeling, flat affect, and poor regulation and management of socioemotional challenges that can stem from psychological distress (Jeon et al., 2014). These findings add to the literature by replicating these findings in a LMIC context (Hoffman et al., 2006; Wang, 2018; Watts 2016). The risk would be amplified in resource-limited settings such as Kenya as sustained poverty-related stress and economic hardships may increase parents’ cortisol levels and the likelihood of developing depressive symptoms (Mastorakos & Ilias, 2003). For example, many parents in LMIC contexts report co-occurrence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and stress (Laurenzi et al., 2021), which may have compounded negative impacts on child socioemotional and cognitive development. More studies in different LMIC settings are needed to confirm these findings.

Our hypothesis on the indirect association between parental depressive symptoms and child outcomes via its association with HLE was not supported. We found that the HLE did not mediate the association between parental depressive symptoms and child socioemotional and cognitive development. This is somewhat different from the previous studies (O’Connor et al., 2016; Stein et al., 2018), mostly with mothers of younger children. They found that parents with depressive symptoms tend to show a poorer quality of interaction with their children, which is in turn, negatively associated with child developmental outcomes.

These findings indicate that depressive symptoms are likely to impact child outcomes more directly (e.g., by modeling or an emotional cascade effect) than indirectly. Similar to our study, Kim and their colleagues (2021) found that maternal mental health was not associated with early stimulation activities. Previous studies have also found relatively small indirect effects of parent depressive symptoms on child outcomes through parenting compared to direct effects (Goodman et al., 2020). Another possible reason for the non-significant indirect link is that we used parent reports on the frequency of certain activities and the number of books. Measures of observed interaction quality, such as attentive, engaged, and responsive parenting behaviors, may be more strongly related to parents’ mental well-being. It is also important to consider Kenya’s cultural context, which may differ from most of the previous studies conducted in the HIC settings.

Parent Self-Efficacy, HLE, and Child Development

We found that parents’ self-efficacy was positively associated with child prosocial behaviors. It appears that when parents are confident in their ability to solve problems or reach their goals, they may be more likely to model those problem-solving behaviors, which, in turn, may enhance children’s ability to share with other children and maintain positive friendships (Coleman & Karraker, 2003). For example, among families with school-aged children, higher levels of parents’ self-efficacy were associated with better school-related social competence of children, such as cooperation skills and empathy (Junttila & Vauras, 2014). Alternatively, when parents have higher self-efficacy, they may be more likely to perceive children’s challenging behaviors in a more positive and understanding way, leading to improved reports of children’s behaviors. Indeed, a longitudinal study examining developmental trajectories from toddlerhood to preschool age found that maternal self-efficacy was the best predictor of later child behavioral adjustment reported by mothers (Jusiene et al., 2015).

Additionally, parents’ self-efficacy was associated with children’s prosocial behaviors through the HLE. Consistent with previous research (Glatz & Buchanan, 2015), when parents have higher levels of self-efficacy, they may engage in more learning activities and provide more educational materials, which may help their children develop more prosocial behaviors. A recent study from Germany found that parents with higher self-efficacy engaged in more learning activities in the home, which in turn, was associated with children’s socioemotional skills (Gessulat et al., 2024). This suggests that promoting parents’ self-efficacy may be an important intervention target as it helps improve both children’s prosocial behaviors and parenting practices at home. Reading stories, playing together, and talking about school can provide parents and children with opportunities to share positive experiences, promoting a warm, responsive relationship, which, in turn, can nurture children’s socioemotional development (Oppermann et al., 2021). Evidence suggests that increasing parental self-efficacy through teaching parents positive parenting skills can have collateral effects on parent well-being via a reduction in stress (Canfield et al., 2020; Colalillo & Johnston, 2016; Sanders et al., 2014).

This study also found that parents’ self-efficacy was associated with cognitive development through the HLE. Parents who believe they can execute a particular course of action may be more likely to provide a cognitively stimulating environment of toys and books, which in turn, improves children’s vocabulary, math, and executive function (Ginsburg-Block et al., 2010). This link between self-efficacy and cognitive development through the HLE highlights the importance of working with families to help them improve their psychological well-being to facilitate children’s learning (Peacock-Chambers et al., 2016). Simply providing materials at home may not be enough to encourage children’s cognitive development (Shin & McCoy, 2022). Parents who are confident in their ability to support children’s learning may see interactions as challenging opportunities to support learning rather than problems to overcome (Oppermann et al., 2021).

In our study, self-efficacy was neither directly nor indirectly associated with children’s socioemotional difficulties. Although socioemotional difficulties and prosocial behaviors are negatively correlated (r = −.20), they appear to represent distinct components of socioemotional development. In fact, parents’ self-efficacy was associated with prosocial behaviors while parents’ depressive symptoms were associated with socioemotional difficulties. This supports a holistic approach to enhancing parent well-being in preventive interventions, targeting both parent self-efficacy and depressive symptoms, as they have differential impacts on children’s socioemotional difficulties and prosocial behaviors.

Robustness of the Associations among Parent Psychological Well-being, HLE, and Child Development

We found that the associations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child development were similar across families with different demographic characteristics, such as parent gender, marital status, and urban residence. In our study, mothers and fathers had similar levels of depressive symptoms and self-efficacy. Still, fathers tended to report higher levels of learning activities than mothers, potentially due to coming from more affluent sociodemographic backgrounds. Despite the differences in the mean levels of learning activities, the strength of the associations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child development was similar between mothers and fathers. Similarly, two-parent families, compared to single-parent families, tended to engage in more home learning activities, and parents living in urban areas, compared to those living in rural areas, tended to engage in more learning activities. However, the strength of the associations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child development were similar across two-parent versus single-parent families and families living in urban versus rural areas.

The associations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child development differed by family size. Larger families had a stronger association between HLE and socioemotional difficulties, whereas smaller families had a stronger association between HLE and prosocial behaviors. Although the associations between parent depressive symptoms and child outcomes were similar regardless of family size, there were some differences in the associations between parent self-efficacy and child outcomes (prosocial behaviors and cognitive development). These differences may have been found due to substantive differences in child development outcomes across large and small households, consistent with previous research indicating that smaller family size is associated with better child outcomes (Ponczek & Souza, 2012). In our study, living in a household with five or more members was positively correlated with socioemotional difficulties (r = .05) and negatively correlated with cognitive development (r = −.20). Family size appears to be an important measure to consider in studies of families from LMICs as fertility remains relatively high and large multigenerational households are more common compared to HICs. More research is needed to better understand how differences in family size influence child development outcomes in LMIC settings.

Strengths and Limitations

This study has several strengths. First, this study included a large sample of families living in Kenya. In addition, 27% of our sample included fathers, who have typically been underrepresented in the parenting and child development literature. Second, we included multiple measures of child development, such as direct tests of cognitive performance and parent reports of child socioemotional difficulties and prosocial behaviors. Third, the detailed data allowed us to include a comprehensive set of covariates to enhance precision and control for a range of potential confounding factors, including sociodemographic characteristics and indicators for receipt of past human capital interventions. Lastly, we further tested the robustness of the associations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child development outcomes in demographically diverse families, including mothers and fathers.

Despite these strengths, this study has several limitations. First, the measures of HLE were reported by parents and they were not observed by researchers, which could provide additional or a more objective measure of the quality of HLE. Second, this study conducted a cross-sectional mediation path analysis, which means that the assumption of temporal ordering of variables was not met; thus, the associations between study variables reflect correlational relations (see Fairchild & McDaniel, 2017 and Maxwell & Cole, 2007). The findings should be interpreted cautiously as they do not reflect causal relations among parent psychological well-being, HLE, and child outcomes. This study used a set of covariates capturing many potentially important dimensions of household socioeconomic circumstances and parent characteristics, though there could remain confounding factors not accounted for here. Third, because this study used a secondary data analysis, there was limited availability of the variables we could include, which may have led to smaller effect sizes. For example, we included parents’ reports of their generalized self-efficacy, which is different from self-efficacy in specific domains of parenting. In addition, using a more qualitative measure to capture HLE, such as observed interaction quality, rather than a count variable may be useful for future research. Considering and accounting for measures that capture unique contextual factors in LMICs (e.g., polygyny, religion, conflicts) that influence parents and children may strengthen the findings of this study. Lastly, although researchers collaborated closely with local partners, the interpretation of findings by researchers external to the study context may not fully reflect the cultural context.

Implications for Practice and Policy

This study highlights the importance of supporting parents’ psychological well-being to support child development. Despite the high rates of mental health problems among caregivers in Kenya, few receive support or treatment, likely due to a lack of trained care providers and access to mental health care services or stigma and other barriers around seeking help (Laurenzi et al., 2021). As parents’ depressive symptoms were uniquely associated with child socioemotional difficulties, improving accessibility and affordability of mental health services is crucial for preventing child problem behaviors. Raising awareness about the importance of mental health for parents through public health campaigns and educational programs could be a strategic investment in the next generation’s development.

The unique associations between parent psychological well-being and child socioemotional and cognitive development provide implications for creating more effective interventions for families in LMICs. Psychological interventions focusing on supporting parent self-efficacy may be effective in directly promoting child outcomes and positive parent-child interactions, which may have long-term impacts on children’s academic achievement and interpersonal relationships. Taking a holistic approach that integrates support for parent well-being with parenting skill development may contribute to breaking the cycle of disadvantage and enable children in resource-limited households in Sub-Saharan Africa to reach their full developmental potential.

Furthermore, offering interventions that simultaneously target parents’ self-efficacy and positive parent-child interactions may help establish a virtuous cycle of a positive family environment. Emerging research supports the effectiveness of community-based parenting interventions that aim to enhance parenting skills and support parent well-being (e.g., coparenting relationships) in Sub-Saharan Africa (Luoto et al., 2021; Singla et al., 2015). Expanding on this evidence, teaching specific problem-solving and coping skills that enhance parent self-efficacy and parenting skills may enhance the effectiveness of these interventions even more. As parents engage more effectively in children’s learning activities, they may see improvements in children’s socioemotional and cognitive outcomes and may experience less parenting stress (Canfield et al., 2020). Parents may also establish more warm and reciprocal relationships with their children and experience greater feelings of accomplishment and resilience (Park et al., 2024). This may lead to improved parent mental health, such as reduced depressive symptoms, further reinforcing their efficacy in parenting and efforts to create a positive learning environment at home. Creating a program that addresses both the psychological needs of parents, and the developmental needs of children can foster and sustain a nurturing environment that promotes the entire family’s well-being.

Conclusions

The present study suggests the importance of supporting parents’ psychological well-being to promote children’s socioemotional and cognitive development in Kenya. Different constructs of parents’ psychological well-being had unique associations with child outcomes. Parent depressive symptoms were directly associated with child socioemotional difficulties, whereas parent self-efficacy was directly and indirectly associated with child prosocial behaviors and cognitive development. The findings highlight the need to provide mental health support and integrative psychological interventions that enhance parent self-efficacy to support learning and development among children in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this way, we may be able to more successfully reduce disparities and promote equity among children living in LMIC contexts.