Effects of Mothers' Language and Culture Backgrounds on Developmental Delays: A Nationwide Study on Children Born to Immigrant Mothers in Taiwan

Abstract

Transnational marriages are common as a result of globalization, and immigrant mothers face various degrees of differences in language and culture backgrounds. A mother has a large influence on the development of her children, but the effects of immigrant mothers’ language and culture backgrounds on developmental delays (DD) of children are seldom studied. To evaluate the potential effects, we analyzed data from the national registry of DD in Taiwan from 2010 to 2013 and compared the incidence of DD in young children born to mothers from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, where most of the immigrant mothers in Taiwan come from. We included 4604 new cases of DD in children under 7 years of age born to immigrant mothers during the study period. The incidence rates showed an increasing trend among children born to mothers from China, Vietnam, and Indonesia (p < 0.01 in all years). Using Vietnam as the reference, we found the incidence rate ratios in children born to mothers from China ranged from 0.65 to 0.73, and those in children born to mothers from Indonesia ranged from 1.04 to 1.26. The findings support the important role of mothers’ language and culture backgrounds in the development of children.