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Early life psychobiological and psychosocial factors play a key role in influencing child health outcomes. Longitudinal studies may help elucidate the relevant risk and resilience profiles, and the underlying mechanisms that impact on child health, but there is a paucity of birth cohort data from low and middle-income countries (LMIC). We describe the rationale for and present baseline findings from the psychosocial component of the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS).

We review the psychosocial measures used in the DCHS, a multidisciplinary birth cohort study in a peri-urban area in South Africa, and provide initial data on psychological distress, depression, substance use, and exposure to traumatic stressors and intimate partner violence (IPV). These and other measures will be assessed longitudinally in mothers in order to investigate associations with child neurodevelopmental and …