Babies in crisis settings show remarkable social abilities

Babies living as refugees have some of the same social skills as children with more secure home conditions. This is shown by a new study that researchers from Uppsala University have conducted in cooperation with colleagues in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Bhutan. Over 800 children participated in the study, making it one of the largest infant studies ever conducted using eye movement measurements.

We were surprised by the results. Previous research has shown - and we ourselves assumed- that the early infancy period is extremely vulnerable. That children's development is influenced by the social, security and economic conditions in which they spend their early years. However, we saw in our study that children living in insecurity are not doomed. Some important social skills are intact. This inspires hope, though it doesn't mean everything is all right." 

Gustaf Gredebäck, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University

The study was conducted in Bhutan, Sweden, Uganda and Zimbabwe, and involved researchers in peace and conflict studies, game design and psychology. Between 100 and 300 children in each country participated in the study. It shows that regardless of poverty, traumatic experiences in the family, experiences of hunger, war and deep depression in parents, babies are equally good at following social cues.

To obtain a picture of the child's background and circumstances, the researchers interviewed the child's parents. They were asked to talk about their experiences of trauma and how they were feeling, and their response was used as an indicator of the parents' wellbeing status and of their available resources to be a good enough parent.

Internationally established concepts

In all the countries, both children living in secure conditions with parents who were well and children living in troubled conditions with parents who were not well were studied. Trauma from war was only present in children in Uganda, but poverty was present in families in many countries and depression was present in all the countries. The definition of traumatic events and poverty was based on established internationally validated scales and local differences.

The questions in the forms were put to the participants by a local research assistant who could explain and contextualise the question. It was often mental wellbeing issues that needed to be related to different concepts and patterns of thought in different countries. For poverty, country-specific indicators were used.

Eye movement measurements

To measure the children's social activity and ability to follow what was happening around them, the researchers used eye movement measurements, filming children's eyes and using an algorithm to calculate where the child was looking. In this way, it is possible to measure the extent to which a child follows the direction in which someone else is looking, i.e. what they are interested in and how they read what others are interested in. The children are involved in a process of sharing attention with other people.

"By exploring the same ability in very different families in a new way, we can gain a deeper understanding of what we all have in common, the innate abilities that develop early in life. This is important for several reasons," Gredebäck says. "The study gives hope and shows that early childhood holds opportunities for learning and development for all children, including those living in some of the most insecure environments in the world."

The study was carried out in collaboration with researchers at Kabale University in Uganda, the University of Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe and Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences in Bhutan. From Uppsala University, researchers in peace and conflict studies, game design and psychology participated.

The project is funded by the Wallenberg Academy Fellows Programme, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW 2012.0120 and KAW 2017.0284).