Is Child Labor a Barrier to School Enrollment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?

Variability in the age of schooling contributes to the link between literacy and numeracy in Côte d'Ivoire

Literacy and numeracy are correlated throughout development, however, our understanding of this relation is limited. We explored the predictors of literacy and numeracy covariance (i.e., shared fluency between literacy and numeracy) in children (N = 1167, girls = 563) in rural Côte d'Ivoire, with specific focus on how developmental timing of instruction may relate to covariance. Many Ivorian children experience late enrollment and grade repetition, leading to variation in age-for-grade; participants were between grades 1 to 6, but their ages ranged from 5 to 15 (M = 9.19, SD = 2.07). Phonological awareness, numerical magnitude, ordinality, working memory, and inhibitory control were cognitive predictors of covariance. Age-for-grade was negatively related to covariance suggesting that covariance is related to timing of instruction.

Hazardous Child Labour, Psychosocial Functioning, and School Dropouts among Children in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)

Child labour is a common financial coping strategy in poor households, especially in low-and middle-income countries with many children working under hazardous conditions. Little is known about the linkages between hazardous work conditions and psycho-social and educational outcomes. We analysed the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (BMICS) round 6 to assess the association between the exposure variables, including child labour, hazardous child labour (HZCL) and hazardous work, and outcome variables, including psychosocial functioning difficulty and school dropout, in children aged 5 to 17 years. We conducted bivariable and multivariable analyses to examine the association. In the adjusted analyses, children engaged in HZCL had increased odds of psychosocial functioning difficulty (aOR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.16-1.72) and school dropout (aOR: 5.65; 95% CI: 4.83-6.61) among 5-14-year-olds compared to children who did not engage in child labour and hazardous work. Other independent factors associated with psychosocial functioning difficulty and school dropout included being male, living in a deprived neighbourhood, being exposed to violent punishment, the caregiver's attitude towards physical punishment, the mother's functional difficulty and lower maternal education. The linkages between hazardous work and psychosocial functioning difficulty appear more prominent among children not in school. Further, the evidence on the relationship between hazardous work and school dropout is stronger among children with psychosocial functioning difficulty. Policies and programmes that target the most hazardous forms of work are likely to have the greatest benefits for children's mental health, social well-being and educational attainment.

Patterns of Time Use among 12-Year-Old Children and Their Life Satisfaction: A Gender and Cross-Country Comparison

Despite the importance of children's time use to their quality of life, relatively few international comparative studies have focused on the patterns of children's time use and their relationship with quality of life. This study, therefore, aimed to examine the typologies of time use among 12-year-old children by gender and their relationship with their quality of life. We used the second wave of data from the International Survey of Children's Well-Being collected from 16 countries. Children's time use, gender, satisfaction with time use, and life satisfaction were included as the key variables. Latent class analysis using MPLUS 7.0 was utilized. Gender differences in the classification of time-use patterns were identified. Three latent classes (G1, G2, and G3) were identified for girls. Overall high activity group (G1) had the highest level of satisfaction, whereas family helpers (G3) had the lowest level of satisfaction with their time use and life in general. Boys, however, were classified into four classes (B1, B2, B3, and B4). Overall high activity group (B4) had the highest levels of satisfaction with their time use and life in general. The results show that children who actively engage in various activities experience the most satisfaction with their lives and time. Substantial gender differences in time use, particularly around typical gender roles (e.g., housework and family caring), are noteworthy. Programs and policies that encourage children to reduce digital time and enhance activities in other areas are also discussed.

Food Insecurity among Adolescent Students from 95 Countries Is Associated with Diet, Behavior, and Health, and Associations Differ by Student Age and Sex

Background

Adolescents' developmental tasks and challenges vary based on age, sex, and social context. Food insecurity affects adolescents, but existing research has been limited to a few country contexts and has treated adolescence as a singular developmental moment with limited consideration of potential differences in how food insecurity relates to developmental experiences based on adolescent age and sex.

Objectives

We aimed to describe relations between student-reported food insecurity and students' profiles of nutritional, physical activity, school absenteeism, health/mental health, and victimization experiences, and how these differ by student age and sex.

Methods

Using cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey, we examined adolescent reports of their food security among 337,738 students 11-18 y old from 95 countries. We identified their profiles of focal experiences, and used mixed-effects linear and logistic regression models to examine differences in these profiles by student food insecurity and how these differ by student age and sex.

Results

Of students, 25.5% aged 11-14 y compared with 30% aged 15-18 y reported food insecurity in the past 30 d. Food insecurity was associated with less frequent fruit and vegetable intake; more frequent soft drink intake; worse mental health; less physical activity; more missed school; higher odds of smoking, drinking, and using drugs; and more bullying victimization and sexual partners. Food insecurity was associated with reduced age- and sex-specific protection: greater substance use among younger adolescents, more sexual partners among older females, and greater worry among younger males. Food insecurity was also associated with increased age-specific risk: greater soft drink consumption among younger adolescents.

Conclusions

Across countries, adolescent food insecurity was associated with poorer nutritional, mental health, behavioral, and relationship profiles; these associations differed with student age and sex. Food insecurity interventions should attend to adolescent developmental stage and the gendered contexts through which adolescents navigate daily life.

Are Working Children in Developing Countries Hidden Victims of Pandemics?

The consequences of the recent pandemic have been disproportionately disruptive to several social groups, including children. As developing economies have been firefighting the recent pandemic, the welfare of minors could be affected and children’s economic exploitation and abuse could increase. Therefore, the present research aims to shed light on and to investigate the association between child labour in developing countries and pandemics, including the coronavirus, through conducting a systematic literature review on previous empirical studies. The present research concludes that previous studies on non-COVID-19 pandemics have mainly focused on the African economies, while studies on the recent pandemic have focused on Asian countries. In addition, differences were observed in relation to the methodological approaches and the characteristics of minor employees and the protection services in certain countries have proven to be insufficient. Suggestions for future research and policy implications are presented.

Consequences of school closure on access to education: Lessons from the 2013-2016 Ebola pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has seen an unprecedented shutdown of society. Among the various safety measures taken, much attention has been given to school closure as a non-pharmaceutical mitigation tool to curb the spread of the disease through ensuring "social" (physical) distancing. Nearly 1.725 billion children in over 95% of countries worldwide have been affected by school closures implemented in April 2020 as the virus continued to spread. In the field of education, policymakers' attention has been directed at keeping students on board through remote learning and addressing the immediate needs of schools upon reopening. The study presented in this article focuses on who remains absent after schools resume. Using publicly available survey data from the USAID Demographic Health Surveys Program and the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey from before and after the 2013-2016 Ebola pandemic in Guinea and Sierra Leone in West Africa, the author examined changes in school enrolment and dropout patterns, with targeted consideration given to traditionally marginalised groups. At the time, schools closed for between seven to nine months in the two countries; this length and intensity makes this Ebola pandemic the only health crisis in the recent past to come close to the pandemic-related school closures experienced in 2020. The author's findings suggest that post-Ebola, youth in the poorest households saw the largest increase in school dropout. Exceeding expected pre-Ebola dropout rates, an additional 17,400 of the poorest secondary-age youth were out of school. This evidence is important for minimising the likely post-COVID-19 expansion in inequality. The author's findings point to the need for sustainable planning that looks beyond the reopening of educational institutions to include comprehensive financial support packages for groups most likely to be affected.

Inter-relatedness of underlying factors for injury and violence among adolescents in rural coastal Kenya: A qualitative study

We utilized a socio-ecological model to explore views from 85 young people and 10 local stakeholders on forms and underlying factors for unintentional injury, violence, self-harm, and suicidal behavior of adolescents in Kilifi County, Kenya. Young people took part in 11 focus group discussions, whereas 10 in-depth interviews were conducted with the local stakeholders. Road traffic accidents, falls, fights, sexual and gender-based violence, theft, and vandalism were viewed as common. There was an overlap of risk factors, especially at intra- and interpersonal levels (gender, poverty, substance use, parenting behavior, school drop-out). Some broader-level risk factors were insecure neighborhoods and risky sources of livelihood. Research is needed to quantify burden and to pilot feasible injury prevention interventions in this setting.

Sedentary behavior and depressive symptoms among 67,077 adolescents aged 12-15 years from 30 low- and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

Depression is common and burdensome in adolescents. Understanding modifiable environmental risk factors is essential. There is evidence that physical activity is protective of depression. However, the impact of sedentary behavior (SB) on depression is relatively under-researched especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this cross-sectional study, we explored the association between SB and depressive symptoms in adolescents from 30 LMICs, controlling for confounders including physical activity.

METHOD

Data from the Global school-based Student Health Survey were analyzed in 67,077 adolescents [mean (SD) age 13.8 (0.9) years; 50.6% girls). Self-report measures assessed depressive symptoms during the past 12 months, and SB, which was a composite variable assessing time spent sitting and watching television, playing computer games, talking with friends during a typical day excluding the hours spent sitting at school and doing homework. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted and a countrywide meta-analysis undertaken.

RESULTS

The prevalence of depressive symptoms and ≥ 3 h/day of SB were 28.7 and 30.6%, respectively. There was a linear increase in the prevalence of depressive symptoms with increasing sedentary time beyond ≥3 h/day (vs. < 1 h/day). Among boys, 1-2 h/day of SB was associated with lower odds for depression (vs. < 1 h/day). Countrywide meta-analysis demonstrated that spending ≥3 h/day versus < 3 h/day was associated with a 20% increased odds for depressive symptoms (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.16-1.24) with low between-country heterogeneity (I2 = 27.6%).

CONCLUSION

Our data indicate that being sedentary for ≥3 h/day is associated with increased odds for depressive symptoms in adolescence. Future longitudinal data are required to confirm/refute the findings to inform public interventions which aim to limit the time spent being sedentary in adolescents.

Application Options of the Sustainable Child Development Index (SCDI)-Assessing the Status of Sustainable Development and Establishing Social Impact Pathways

The needs of children and their vulnerability to diseases, violence and poverty are different from those of adults. The Sustainable Child Development Index (SCDI) was thus developed in previous work to evaluate the status of sustainable development for countries with a focus on children and triple-bottom-line thinking. This study proposes application options to put the SCDI into practice. The SCDI can be performed similarly to existing development indices, for comparing and tracing the performance of sustainable development on different geographic levels and between population groups. In addition, the SCDI can be integrated into existing social sustainability assessment approaches (e.g., Social Life Cycle Assessment and Social Organizational Life Cycle Assessment) and databases (e.g., The Social Hotspots Database) to take children into account and enhance impact assessment of social sustainability assessment approaches. As an exemplification, this study demonstrates the application of the SCDI framework to support the development of social impact pathways. Due to the importance of tertiary education in reducing poverty, a preliminary social impact pathway addressing completion of tertiary education was established. By putting the SCDI into practice, the SCDI can support decision making in child as well as sustainable development policies.