Intersecting Effects of Poverty, Maternal Sensitivity, and Neuropsychological Development on Educational Outcomes in North West Nigeria: A Longitudinal Investigation

This study conducts a longitudinal investigation of the intersecting effects of household poverty, maternal sensitivity, and neuropsychological development on educational outcomes in children from birth to age ten in North West Nigeria. North West Nigeria has the highest rates of child poverty, stunting, and out-of-school children in the country, creating an urgent need for evidence-based models that explain how early biological and relational experiences shape long-term educational trajectories in the most deprived Nigerian populations. The study follows a birth cohort of 350 mother-infant dyads from Sokoto, Zamfara, and Kebbi States across four measurement waves at ages 6 months, 24 months, 5 years, and 9 to 10 years. Instruments include the Ainsworth Strange Situation Protocol, poverty and food security indices, the Mullen Scales of Early Learning, executive function assessments, and primary school academic records. Data were analysed using latent class growth analysis, structural equation modelling, and multilevel modelling across waves. Results reveal four distinct developmental trajectory classes differentiated by the combination of poverty severity and maternal sensitivity, with trajectory membership predicting a significant proportion of variance in educational outcomes at age ten. Maternal sensitivity buffered the effects of poverty on neuropsychological development, with its protective effects most pronounced during the first two years of life. This study makes an original contribution to the developmental and educational psychology literature by generating the first longitudinal cohort evidence on poverty-sensitive educational development from North West Nigeria. Keywords: poverty, maternal sensitivity, neuropsychological development, longitudinal, North West Nigeria.