Summary

In MoBaKinder we will find out how kindergartens can promote good mental health and quality of life in children. Our aim is that knowledge from this research will be used to strengthen the potential of Norwegian kindergartens as health promoting.

Almost all children in Norway attend kindergarten before they start school. In this project we study whether kindergarten quality has an impact on children's mental health, quality of life, and school results. By linking The Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) to The Norwegian Patient Registry and national mandatory achievement tests we can find out whether children attending high quality kindergartens have lower risk for developing mental disorders. We can also study whether these children get better results in school than children attending low quality kindergartens. In MoBa 7,500 kindergarten teachers were asked to assess the quality of their kindergarten through a thorough questionnaire. Mothers have answered questions about their children's development, health, and quality of life throughout childhood. This gives us knowledge about how children develop both before and after entering kindergarten. One of the aims is to study if kindergarten quality is of greater importance for some groups, such as children from families with low socioeconomic status or children with developmental delays prior to entering kindergarten. With MoBaKinder we will be able to identify qualities in kindergartens that can contribute to promoting better mental health and quality of life in children.

More information:
https://www.fhi.no/en/studies/language-and-learning-study/

See the full project description at Cristin for more information about results, researchers, contact information etc.

Project participants

Project leader

Mari Vaage Wang, Norwegian Institute of Public Health

Project participants

Mari Vaage Wang, Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ragnhild Eek Brandlistuen, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Silje Kvam Bårdstu, Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Erik Eliassen, Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Nina Alexandersen, Child Health and Development, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ratib Lekhal, BI Norwegian Business School
Henrik Daae Zachrisson, University of Oslo
Espen Røysamb, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo
Arne Holte, University of Oslo
Thomas Moser, University of South-Eastern Norway
Pernille Due, National Institute of Public Health
Margaret Barry, National University of Ireland, Galway