This study examines how center-based parenting interventions aimed at improving early child development in rural China affect the mental health of caregivers. Data from an analytic sample of 615 caregiver–child dyads (children aged 6 to 24 months, 48.5% girls; data collection: 2015–2017) in a 2-year cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 100 villages showed that the intervention had no significant effect on caregiver depressive (β = − .047, SE = .079), anxiety (β = .040, SE = .076), or stress (β = .032, SE = .081) symptoms. Subgroup analyses found no significant difference in effects on mental health by prespecified characteristics after adjustment for multiple comparisons, except that the caregivers of children without social–emotional delay at baseline exhibited lower depression scores after the intervention (β = − .205, SE = .097, p = .043). The findings suggest that the center-based parenting intervention focused solely on strengthening parenting skills may be insufficient to improve caregiver mental health over 2 years.
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Objectives Considering the importance of caregiver mental health for early childhood development, this study investigates risk and protective factors of mental health of mothers and grandmothers caring for infants and toddlers in rural China.
Methods Using survey data from 777 primary caregivers of children aged 5 to 25 months, we apply regression analysis and structural equation modeling to examine associations between social support, mental health literacy, parenting-related hardships, and mental health among mothers and grandmothers.
Results The study finds that 33% of the caregivers report symptoms of mental health problems, with grandmothers experiencing more severe symptoms. Poor caregiver mental health is associated with lower child language (p < 0.05) and social-emotional development (p < 0.001). Social support and mental health literacy are associated with better mental health, but this association was not statistically significant among either the mothers or the grandmothers alone.
Conclusions Enhancing caregiver mental health is crucial for children’s development. Social support and mental health literacy are predictors of mental health. Future research should examine the effect of improving social support and mental health literacy on the mental health of caregivers for young children.
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International Journal of Social Welfare,
April 26, 2026
Caregivers' ability to access, engage with, and critically evaluate digital information on parenting practices (henceforth, “e-parenting literacy”) is emerging as an increasingly important determinant of early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. Therefore, the current study provides empirical evidence of the role of e-parenting literacy for ECD outcomes of 6- to 24-month-olds (N = 564) in rural households in a coastal province in East-China. The study focuses on the role of e-parenting literacy of the two most common types of primary caregivers (i.e., persons in charge of the daily care) of young children in the study region: mother and grandmother caregivers. Empirical results show that 76% of the primary caregivers (N = 429) are mothers, the remaining 135 primary caregivers are grandmothers. Overall, e-parenting literacy is found to be positively and significantly associated with children's early cognitive development outcomes. Furthermore, a heterogeneity analysis shows that e-parenting literacy is positively and significantly associated with children's early cognitive and language outcomes when the primary caregiver is a grandmother, but not when the primary caregiver is a mother. This may reflect greater heterogeneity in grandmothers' digital device use and e-parenting literacy, while most mothers already possess adequate e-parenting skills. Additionally, older children (i.e., 16- to 24-month-olds), who may require more advanced parenting skills than their slightly younger peers, are also found to benefit more from gains in e-parenting literacy. This research highlights how digital inclusion can help to bridge gaps in caregiving practices and developmental opportunities of young children growing up in developing settings.
