Associations between paternal engagement and child development outcomes in Lebanon: a multilevel cross-sectional analysis of national data - Summary - MDSpire
To assess whether paternal engagement in caregiving is associated with early child development in Lebanon and whether the association varies by socioeconomic context.
Approach:
Design and data: Cross-sectional analysis of the 2023 Lebanon Micronutrient, Anthropometric and Child Development Survey, including 1,181 children aged 0–59 months and their caregivers and households.
Measures and analysis: Child development was measured using a pooled, age-standardised score from two age-specific instruments. Paternal engagement included five stimulation and three caregiving activities. Hierarchical linear models accounted for clustered sampling; analyses used s…
Key Findings:
A one-unit increase in paternal engagement was associated with a 0.22 SD higher child development score (SE 0.11; p<0.05); sensitivity estimates ranged from 0.13 to 0.32 SD.
There was no evidence that the association differed by cluster-level household assets or household nationality.
Within- and between-cluster engagement estimates were positive but not statistically significant.
Interpretation:
The authors report a modest association between greater paternal engagement and higher child development scores, with little evidence of variation across communities or household-asset levels.
Limitations:
The cross-sectional design does not establish that paternal engagement caused differences in child development.
The pooled developmental score combines age-standardised measures from two different instruments.
Conclusion:
The authors conclude that higher paternal engagement is modestly associated with improved early child development in Lebanon and suggest supporting fathers’ caregiving alongside wider social protections.
by Junita Henry, Alya Al Sager, Lama Charafeddine, Amirhossein Yarparvar, Nicolai Petry, Omar Obeid, Carla El Mallah, Luke W Miratrix, Joelle Najjar, Janneke Hartvig Blomberg, Pamela Zgheib, Aisha K Yousafzai
