Version 1
: Received: 23 October 2023 / Approved: 24 October 2023 / Online: 25 October 2023 (07:35:58 CEST)
How to cite:
September, S.J.; Roman, N.V. A South African Study on Prevalent Risk and Protective Factors in Early Childhood: Ecological Systems Perspective. Preprints2023, 2023101574. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1574.v1
September, S.J.; Roman, N.V. A South African Study on Prevalent Risk and Protective Factors in Early Childhood: Ecological Systems Perspective. Preprints 2023, 2023101574. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1574.v1
September, S.J.; Roman, N.V. A South African Study on Prevalent Risk and Protective Factors in Early Childhood: Ecological Systems Perspective. Preprints2023, 2023101574. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1574.v1
APA Style
September, S.J., & Roman, N.V. (2023). A South African Study on Prevalent Risk and Protective Factors in Early Childhood: Ecological Systems Perspective. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1574.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
September, S.J. and Nicolette Vanessa Roman. 2023 "A South African Study on Prevalent Risk and Protective Factors in Early Childhood: Ecological Systems Perspective" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202310.1574.v1
Abstract
It is essential to consider the factors that affect early childhood development because doing so can help identify potential risks and window of opportunity for intervention to improve outcomes for children. However, identifying risk and protective factors in early childhood requires careful consideration of several challenges and an integrated approach that recognises the complex and dynamic nature of development. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the prevalent psychosocial risk and protective factors in the early childhood development phase, using an ecological perspective. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional study using a random sampling technique. The final sample consisted of 505 caregivers of children aged 5 years old and younger. This study revealed that the most prevalent protective factors include child self-regulation, parent-child warmth, family management and collective efficacy but more importantly social support. While risk factors may exist this is mitigated by social support as it moderates and buffers against the effects of risk factors, as indicated by the various research studies cited.
Keywords
Keywords; Early childhood; ecological systems theory; prevalent; risk factors; protective factors
Subject
Social Sciences, Other
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
