QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) An erratum has been published Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hurley, K. M. Articles by Caufield, L. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hurley, K. M. Articles by Caufield, L. E.

---

Community and International Nutrition

Maternal Symptoms of Stress, Depression, and Anxiety Are Related to Nonresponsive Feeding Styles in a Statewide Sample of WIC Participants^1,2

³ Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201 and ⁴ Center for Human Nutrition, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: khurley{at}peds.umaryland.edu.

Parenting, including nonresponsive feeding styles, has been related to under- or overweight among young children. The relationship between maternal mental health and feeding styles has not been examined. We hypothesized that mothers who report more symptoms of stress, depression, or anxiety report less responsive (e.g. more controlling, indulgent, and uninvolved) feeding styles than mothers who report fewer symptoms of stress, depression, or anxiety. Our analyses included 702 mother-infant pairs from a statewide sample of Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children mothers. We assessed maternal mental health and feeding styles by a telephone survey. After adjusting for potential confounding variables, maternal stress symptomatology was significantly associated with forceful (β = 0.03; 95% CI = 0.02, 0.05) and uninvolved (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.1, 1.7) feeding style scores, maternal depression symptomatology was significantly associated with forceful (β = 0.03; 95% CI = 0.004, 0.05), indulgent (β = 0.03; 95% CI = 0.004, 0.06), and uninvolved (OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.001, 2.2) feeding styles scores, and maternal anxiety symptomatology was significantly related to restrictive (β = 0.11; 95% CI = 0.01, 0.21), forceful (β = 0.04; 95% CI = 0.02, 0.06), and uninvolved (OR = 1.4; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.9) feeding style scores. Among mothers who perceived their infant as temperamentally fussy, there was a significant positive relationship between restrictive feeding styles scores and 3 indices of maternal mental health (stress, β = 0.18; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.28; depression, β = 0.21; 95% CI = 0.04, 0.38; and cumulative mental health symptomatology, β = 0.29; 95% CI = 0.10, 0.48). Mothers who report stress, depression, or anxiety symptoms are at risk for nonresponsive feeding styles. These findings provide support for broadening the focus of existing child nutrition programs to include strategies that recognize how issues of maternal mental health can affect feeding styles.