Empirical Investigation of the Relationship Between Parental Mental Health and Child Social-Emotional Development in Low-Income Urban Communities in Nigeria

Parental mental health significantly affects caregiving quality and child social-emotional development, and empirically characterising this relationship in low-income urban communities across Nigeria provides evidence for integrated mental health and ECD programming. This study empirically investigated the relationship between parental mental health and child social-emotional development in low-income urban communities in Lagos (SW), Port Harcourt (SS), and Kano (NW). A cross-sectional design enrolled 540 parent-child dyads (180 per city). Parental mental health was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (extended to 3 years post-birth) and the Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 scale. Child social-emotional development was assessed using the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire Social-Emotional. Structural equation modelling was applied. Elevated depressive symptoms were identified in 37.2 percent of mothers and 21.4 percent of fathers. Maternal depression was a significant negative predictor of child social-emotional development across all three cities (beta = -0.41, p < 0.001). Paternal anxiety significantly moderated the maternal depression-child development relationship. Responsive caregiving behaviour mediated 52 percent of the maternal depression-child outcome relationship. Low-quality neighbourhood environment amplified the parental mental health-child outcome relationship. The study provides multi-city empirical evidence on the mental health-ECD pathway in Nigerian low-income contexts and recommends integrating mental health screening into ECD centre enrolment, establishing referral pathways to mental health services, and training ECD teachers in supporting families with parental mental health challenges. Keywords: parental mental health, social-emotional development, low-income urban Nigeria, maternal depression, early childhood