Abstract
Objective
To determine the relations between household material hardships and having a low internal
locus of control over the prevention of child obesity in low-income Hispanic pregnant
women.
Methods
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected during a third
trimester prenatal visit from women participating in the Starting Early Study, a randomized
controlled trial to test the efficacy of a primary care-based family-centered early
child obesity prevention intervention. Using multiple logistic regression analyses,
we determined whether 4 domains of material hardship (food insecurity, difficulty
paying bills, housing disrepair, neighborhood stress), considered individually and
also cumulatively, were associated with having a low internal locus of control over
the prevention of child obesity.
Results
The sample included 559 low-income Hispanic pregnant women, with 60% having experienced
at least 1 hardship. Food insecurity was independently associated with a low internal
locus of control over the prevention of child obesity (adjusted odds ratio, 2.38;
95% confidence interval, 1.50–3.77), controlling for other hardships and confounders.
Experiencing a greater number of material hardships was associated in a dose-dependent
relationship with an increased odds of having a low internal locus of control.
Conclusions
Prenatal material hardships, in particular food insecurity, were associated with having
a lower prenatal internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity. Longitudinal
follow-up of this cohort is needed to determine how relations between material hardships
and having a low internal locus of control will ultimately affect infant feeding practices
and child weight trajectories.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 06, 2016
Accepted:
February 2,
2016
Received:
September 30,
2015
Footnotes
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Academic Pediatric Association
