Previously submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research (no longer under consideration since Nov 14, 2025)
Date Submitted: May 21, 2025
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effectiveness of a Digital Anticipatory Guidance Program in Enhancing Maternal Sensitivity and Socioemotional Development During Early Infancy
ABSTRACT
Background:
Early childhood is a crucial stage for laying the foundation of cognitive and socioemotional development. Maternal sensitivity is known to be a strong predictor of positive child outcomes. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Indonesia, anticipatory guidance for early parenting is still limited and often overlooks socioemotional aspects.
Objective:
To assess the effectiveness of mobile phone-based anticipatory guidance in improving maternal sensitivity and promoting socioemotional development in infants aged 0–3 months.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental study was conducted in Bandung, Indonesia, involving 120 mother-infant pairs assigned to intervention (n=60) and control (n=60) groups. The intervention group received an 8-week mobile parenting program featuring interactive content based on developmental science and attachment theory. Maternal sensitivity was measured using the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS), and infant socioemotional development was assessed using the ASQ:SE-2 at three points: baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and one month after (T2). Repeated measures ANOVA and generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used for analysis.
Results:
The intervention group showed a significant increase in maternal sensitivity (T0 = 29.54; T2 = 34.28; P<.001; η²=0.31) and a reduction in socioemotional difficulty scores (T0 = 91.03; T2 = 77.86; P<.001; η²=0.29), whereas no significant changes were found in the control group. GEE analysis confirmed significant group-by-time interaction effects
Conclusions:
The Stimulus App was effective in enhancing maternal sensitivity and infant socioemotional development in an urban LMIC setting. These findings support its use as a scalable and cost-effective approach in early parenting programs.
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