Award Date

December 2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

Department

Social and Behavioral Health

First Committee Member

Gabriela Buccini

Second Committee Member

Christopher Johansen

Third Committee Member

Sheniz Moonie

Fourth Committee Member

Alyssa Crittenden

Number of Pages

73

Abstract

Early childhood obesity has increased significantly over the last few decades, reaching epidemic levels in the United States. Many interventions exist to alleviate early childhood obesity; however, little focus is on preventing obesity-related risks for children under two. High-quality child-caregiver interactions are deemed critical for preventing early childhood obesity development, but there is little information on the socio-ecological factors that influence a caregivers' feeding styles. This study examined socio-ecological factors associated with caregivers' feeding styles (responsive vs. non-responsive) for infants under two in Clark County, Nevada. This cross-sectional study utilized a survey targeted to caregivers (18 and older) with infants under two years old living in Clark County, Nevada. Descriptive analysis and a logistic regression following a hierarchical modeling approach were used to determine the associations between household, maternal, and infant characteristics, pregnancy and prenatal care, maternal mental health, infant feeding, and caregiver feeding styles. We found infant and maternal socio-demographic characteristics associated with responsive and non-responsive feeding styles (e.g., mother’s age, education, infant’s insurance, and weight perception). Additionally, we found that household, maternal mental health, and pregnancy and prenatal care factors were associated with non-responsive feeding styles (e.g., household income, water insecurity, prenatal care, WIC enrollment, depression risk, and anxiety risk). Our study provides insights into socio-ecological factors influencing dissimilarities in caregivers' feeding styles that could be used to tailor educational approaches to address disparities in early childhood obesity.

Keywords

Childhood Obesity; Infant Feeding Style; Responsive Feeding; Socioecological Factors

Disciplines

Public Health | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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