Abstract
Pesticide use is widespread in African agriculture and households; however, there is limited child epidemiological data. The neurodevelopmental effects of pesticide exposure have been observed across the globe, showing specific, severe, and often insidious implications for child health. Specifically, there is a lack of SA research exploring the psychological and neurodevelopmental consequences of childhood pesticide exposure. This research progressively focuses on (a) systematically reviewing 30 years (1989-2019) of local evidence on the effects of pesticides on SA children, (b) critically appraising and discussing additional details on the relevant psychological and neurodevelopmental outcomes, and (c) providing guidelines for future research. Seven databases were searched: Cochrane Review, EBSCOhost (including PsycINFO), PubMed, SABInet, SAGE journals, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. The results highlight that only six studies (27%) included psychological outcomes, of which only three incorporated recognised psychological assessment tools. Furthermore, two of these only reported preliminary findings, while the remaining study showed significant detrimental child psychological outcomes (e.g., decrements in Social-Emotional, Language Composite and Expressive Communication scores). Ultimately, the results further illustrate the gap in local research published on this topic and thus accentuates the need for specific research exploring the psychological consequences of childhood pesticide exposure. Future research is guided towards (a) exploring child psychological outcomes of pesticide exposure, utilising applicable measures for the SA context; (b) adopting a longitudinal approach; (c) employing direct and indirect assessment measures for exposure; (d) measuring confounding variables; and (e) working collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams of researchers with different skill sets. Keywords: child, neurodevelopmental outcomes, pesticide, psychological outcomes, South Africa.
M.A. (Clinical Psychology)