Prolonged Early Food Insecurity and Child Feeding Practices among a Low-Income Hispanic Population: Role of Parenting Stress

Objective

To examine associations between prolonged early household food insecurity (FI) during pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood, and child feeding practices, and the mediating role of dysfunctional parent-child interactions.

Methods

We conducted secondary longitudinal analyses of data from the Starting Early Program (StEP) randomized controlled trial, which studied a primary care-based child obesity prevention program for low-income Hispanic families. Our independent variable was FI, using the USDA Food Security Module, during the third trimester of pregnancy and at child ages 10- and 19-months. Frequency of reported FI was defined by the number of periods with FI (0, 1, 2, or 3). Our dependent variables were feeding practices at child age 28-months using the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. Our mediating variable was dysfunctional parent-child interactions using the Parenting Stress Index subscale at age 19-months. We used linear regression to determine associations between frequency of reported FI and feeding practices adjusting for covariates, and mediation analyses to determine if dysfunctional parent-child interactions mediate these associations.

Results

Three hundred and forty four mothers completed assessments at child age 28-months. Of the 12 feeding practices examined, higher frequency of reported FI was positively associated with using food as a reward, restriction of food for weight control, and using food for emotional regulation, and was negatively associated with monitoring of less healthy foods. There was a significant indirect effect of frequency of reported FI on these practices through dysfunctional parent-child interactions.

Conclusion

Higher frequency of reported FI was associated with four feeding practices, through dysfunctional parent-child interactions. Understanding these pathways can inform preventive interventions.