This article reports on the effect of a community-based social support programme offered through a government-linked centre that works on the resilience of children of families from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Purposive sampling was used to select four parents (mothers) and nine school-going children (N = 13) who all benefit from and attend a…

The South African National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy was approved by the South African Cabinet in 2015. Given capacity and financial constraints, all services outlined cannot be implemented in a single step. Priorities must be set. We examine the budget implications (total cost and cost per child) and benefits of the four…

Research addressing the sexual health and reproductive rights of pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers is growing, although attention to the sexual well-being of young mothers who are already in school remains limited. This omission places teenage mothers at risk, who may be susceptible to repeated pregnancies that may compromise their well-being…

The increase in drug abuse in South Africa has had major social implications in the country. Problems associated with drug dependency are poverty, unemployment, a heavier burden on the health care system, the disintegration of family systems and drug-related crimes. Another area of concern is the link between drug abuse and child abuse. While…

Infant symbolic play was examined in relation to prenatal alcohol exposure and socioenvironmental background and to predict which infants met criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) at 5 years. A total of 107 Cape-Colored, South African infants born to heavy drinking mothers and abstainers/light drinkers were recruited prenatally. Complexity of…

Researching the epidemiology and estimating the prevalence of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and other fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) for mainstream populations anywhere in the world has presented a challenge to researchers. Three major approaches have been used in the past: surveillance and record review systems, clinic-based studies, and…