Impact of a group intervention with mothers and babies on child development

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact on child development of a group intervention with mothers and their eight-month-old babies from a marginal urban district of Lima. The groups, control and treatment, were randomized and child development was assessed before and after with the BSID-II. The intervention had a general positive impact in the children’s development, but no significant differences were found between both groups in the Mental Development Index or the Psychomotor Development Index. There was a significant effect (p < .05) in two of the BSID-II Behavioral Scale factors.