Premium
Influence of Maternal Stress, Number of Children, and Marital Status on Maternal Restrictive Feeding Practices of Preschool‐Age Children
Author(s) -
Smith Chelsea Lynn,
Swyden Katheryn,
Weedn Ashley,
Salvatore Alicia L,
Terry Robert,
Sisson Susan B.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.31.1_supplement.959.10
Subject(s) - anxiety , marital status , structural equation modeling , multivariate analysis , bayesian multivariate linear regression , multivariate statistics , psychology , demography , medicine , developmental psychology , regression analysis , environmental health , population , psychiatry , statistics , mathematics , machine learning , sociology , computer science
Maternal feeding practices contribute to children's development of healthy eating behaviors. Feeding practices, such as restricting certain foods, may be influenced by concern for child weight and maternal stress. While having multiple children in a household may contribute to higher maternal stress, it may be protective against unhealthy feeding practices. Dual parent households may also decrease maternal stress through shared parental demands. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine the collective influence of maternal stress, number of children, and marital status on maternal restrictive feeding practices. METHODS This cross sectional study used online surveys of mothers of 2‐to‐5‐year‐old children to examine associations between maternal stress (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale), number of children, marital status, and feeding practices (Child Feeding Questionnaire). The Child Feeding Questionnaire also evaluated the feeding factor of concern‐for‐child‐weight. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess the relationship between maternal stress, number of children, marital status, and restrictive feeding practices while adjusting for concern‐for‐child‐weight. Structural equation modeling with confirmatory factor analysis was also used to evaluate the multivariate regression model. RESULTS Mothers (n=278) were 73% Caucasian, 70% employed full time, 32.5+5.1 years old and the mean number of children in household was 2.0±0.9 children. In individual models, maternal stress contributed to restrictive feeding practices (β=0.017, SE =0.004, p =0.001). Number of children and marital status were not associated with restrictive feeding practices. In multivariate linear regression and structural equation models, maternal stress and number of children in household individually contributed to higher feeding restriction, while their interaction resulted in lower feeding restriction. Concern for child weight also contributed to more restrictive feeding practices in both models. CONCLUSIONS Mothers with more children and higher levels of stress exhibited lower feeding restriction. The number of children itself may not protect against restrictive feeding practices, but may contribute to a collective environment where restrictive feeding practices are practiced less often by the mother.