Children with developmental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries : more neglected and physically punished

• Main Authors: Bizzego, Andrea, Lim, Mengyu, Schiavon, Greta, Esposito, Gianluca
• Other Authors: School of Social Sciences
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Psychology; Developmental Disabilities; Parental Involvement
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144363
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Little is known about parenting in the context of developmental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), penalized by both lack of data and a research bias toward western societies. In this study, we apply data mining methods on a large (N = 25,048) dataset from UNICEF to highlight patterns of association between developmental disabilities of children and parental involvement. We focus on the co-presence of multiple disabilities and the quality of childcare in three parenting domains: discipline, caregiving, and education. Our results show that, in LMIC, children with more severe developmental conditions are also more likely to receive low-quality parental care. Specific policies of parental training are needed to improve parental practices in LMIC.