Maternal immigrant status and signs of neurodevelopmental problems in early childhood: The French representative ELFE birth cohort.
In France, toddlers of recent immigrant moms—especially from North or Sub-Saharan Africa—tend to score slightly higher on M-CHAT and lower on language screens, so plan culturally attuned follow-up.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Schmengler et al. (2019) looked at 2-year-olds in the big French ELFE birth cohort. They compared kids whose moms had just moved to France with kids of native-born moms.
All toddlers took two quick screens: the M-CHAT for autism red flags and the French MB-CDI for early words. The team asked whether mom's immigrant status swayed scores.
What they found
Toddlers of first-generation immigrant moms scored a bit higher on M-CHAT and knew fewer words on MB-CDI. The gap was largest for moms from North Africa and French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa.
The shifts were small, but they showed up across the whole sample.
How this fits with other research
Lin et al. (2011) saw the same immigrant-risk pattern in older kids. They found 20 % of immigrant-family children had depressive signs versus 17 % of native-family kids. Together the studies trace one risk line from toddler speech to school-age mood.
Canal-Bedia et al. (2011) proved the Spanish M-CHAT works much like the original. Their work backs Heiko's choice of the tool across cultures.
Odeh-Saba (2025) flips the lens to moms. Arab immigrant mothers of kids with IDD carry extra stress yet can grow through problem-focused coping. The toddler flags Heiko found may be the first signal these same mothers later battle.
Why it matters
If you screen a 2-year-old with an immigrant mom, expect slightly elevated M-CHAT and lower language scores. Do not panic; the shift is mild. Do add culturally attuned follow-up: use an interpreter, ask about the family's view of development, and schedule a quick re-check. Early, respectful monitoring can catch true delays without tagging every immigrant child as at-risk.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A growing body of evidence suggests that children of immigrants may have increased risks of neurodevelopmental disorders. However, evidence based on parent report and on very young children is lacking. We therefore investigated the association between maternal immigrant status and early signs of neurodevelopmental problems in a population-based sample of 2-year-old children using standardized parent-report instruments. We used data from the French representative Étude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance birth cohort, initiated in 2011. The study sample included 9,900 children of nonimmigrant French, 1,403 children of second, and 1,171 children of first generation immigrant women followed-up to age 2 years. Neurodevelopment was assessed using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and an adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDI). In fully adjusted linear regression models, maternal immigrant status was associated with M-CHAT scores, with stronger associations in children of first (β-coefficient: 0.19; 95% CI 0.08-0.29) than second generation immigrants (0.09; 0.01-0.17). This association was especially strong among children of first generation immigrant mothers native of North Africa (vs. nonimmigrant French: 0.33; 0.16-0.49) and French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa (0.26; 0.07-0.45). MB-CDI scores were lowest among children of first generation immigrant mothers, particularly from mostly non-francophone regions. Children of first generation immigrant mothers were most likely to have simultaneously low MB-CDI and high M-CHAT scores. Our findings suggest that maternal immigrant status is associated with early signs of neurodevelopmental difficulties, with strong variations according to maternal region of origin. Further research is necessary to test whether these associations persist and to determine the underlying mechanisms. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1845-1859. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: We asked immigrant and nonimmigrant mothers in France about early signs of neurodevelopmental problems in their 2-year-old children. Overall, we found that children of immigrants may be at higher risk of showing these early warning signs, as compared to children of nonimmigrants. This is in line with previous studies, which were based on doctors' diagnoses at later ages. However, our results differed depending on the mothers' regions of origin. We found the highest risks in children of first generation immigrants from North and French-speaking Sub-Saharan Africa, who also seemed especially at risk of neurodevelopmental problems combined with low language development.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2019 · doi:10.1002/aur.2181