Grandmaternal caregiving and early child development in rural China: the mediating role of parenting environment.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Grandmaternal caregiving is common in many countries and particularly prevalent in rural China, yet evidence on its early developmental implications across caregiving arrangements remains limited. We examined how three caregiving types-maternal caregiving, grandmother-mother cocaregiving and grandmaternal caregiving-relate to early child development, and whether associations are mediated by the parenting environment.

Methods

We analysed a two-wave longitudinal cohort of 1796 children under 3 years and their primary caregivers drawn from 118 randomly sampled villages in the Qin-ba mountain region of rural China. We estimated associations using multiple linear regression and assessed mediation by components of the parenting environment (parenting activities, home le

SUBMITTER: Song Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12506156 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature