Abstract:
Background: Early childhood development (ECD) is a period of life from prenatal to 8 years of
age. It is a time when children undergo significant growth and development that affect their lives
into adulthood. Many risk factors can affect ECD. The most important phase of brain growth and
development in children occurs during the first 1000 days of life; therefore, early interventions
are critical. Studies from developing countries highlighted the significant association between
socioeconomic status (SES) of the family and children’s developmental outcomes. Literature
also indicated the importance of high maternal educational level for normal early childhood
development.
Aim: The primary goal of the study was to assess the relationship between ECD outcome of
children under 3 years old and the main independent variables chosen for this study: family SES
and maternal educational level. Methods: The study applied a cross-sectional survey design. The study targeted children under 3
years of age and their mothers residing in Yerevan, Armenia. Face-to-face interviews with
mothers of children under 3 years of age were conducted. CREDI assessment tool was selected
to measure early childhood development. In total, 225 children were selected in Yerevan,
Armenia, using multi-stage cluster sampling technique. By descriptive and univariate analysis of
selected covariates, the study identified confounding variables for ECD outcome and SES
relationship as well as for ECD outcome and maternal education relationship, to control for in
multivariable linear regression analyses of the associations of interest.
Results: After adjusting for the identified confounders, the multivariable linear regression
analysis showed a statistically significant dose-response relation between maternal education
level and ECD score: compared to Primary/secondary/specialized education group, β coefficient
was 7.23 (95% CI 4.34-10.13) for the Bachelor group and 9.45 (95% CI 6.32-12.57) for the
Master/Phd group. The association between family SES and ECD score controlled for the
identified confounders also showed significantly higher ECD outcome among children in high
SES group (β=4.48, 95% CI 1.46-4.49) compared to those in low SES group. Conclusion: The results of this study are consistent with the global evidence that maternal
education is primary predicting factor for early childhood development, and higher maternal
education is one of the predicting factors for better early developmental outcomes. The study
obtained similar results on the effect of SES level on childhood development, and highlighted
that children have better ECD outcomes in families having high socioeconomic status. The study
recommendations included developing educational programs on parenting, early childhood care
and development, specifically targeting parents in low educational groups, and piloting cash
transfer programs among families with low SES status in Armenia.