Home environment,nutritional status and maternal intelligence as determinants of intellectual development in rural Philippine preschool children

Psychologists used 7 subtests based on Western intelligence tests but developed for rural preschoolers in Tagalog-speaking regions of the Philippines to estimate intelligence of 177 5-6 year old children in 4 agricultural villages in the provinces of Batangas and Oriental Mindoro. They also assessed the height for age, weight for age, and mid upper arm circumference of the children to determine nutritional status. They used 2 subtests from the Philippine Aptitude Classification Test to estimate the intelligence of 181 mothers and asked the mothers questions from the Environmental Interview Questionnaire to determine the status of the home environment. The psychologists hoped to examine the association between home environment, nutritional status, and intellectual development in these preschool children. A moderate association existed between home environment and intellectual development. It contributed more to child intellectual performance than did socioeconomic status and maternal intelligence. The physical and psychosocial environment also contributed to intellectual development. Maternal intelligence, a partial index of genetic influence, could not altogether explain the association between home environment and intellectual development. These results may identify environment experiences concerning environmental specificity such as exploration of the surrounding environment and spatial ability. Intellectual development was not significantly related to nutritional status in normal to moderately malnourished children.