Mental health symptoms and their relations with dietary diversity and nutritional status among mothers of young children in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

AbstractObjective:The objective was to examine the association between symptoms of maternal mental health problems and child diet and nutritional status in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.Design:Maternal depression and anxiety symptoms were measured by the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25), and post-traumatic stress was measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Participants were classified as having high psychological distress if their mean item score was in the upper quartile of both measures. Dependent variables included child dietary diversity, meal frequency, height-for-age z score (HAZ), weight-for-age z score (WAZ), weight-for-height z score (WHZ), stunting and underweight. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted.Setting:The study was nested in a larger quasi-experimental study evaluating Jenga Jamaa II, a food and nutrition assistance project in Uvira and Fizi territories.Participants:In total, 812 mother–child pairs participated. Children ranged from 2·6 to 5·6 years of age.Results:HSCL-25 (ß: 0·18, P < 0·05) and HTQ (ß: 0·19, P < 0·05) were statistically significantly associated with higher dietary diversity scores, and all maternal mental health measures were associated with higher meal frequency (HSCL-25: ß: 0·13, P = 0·001; HTQ: ß: 0·12, P = 0·001; high distress: ß: 0·15, P < 0·05) and consumption of at least three meals/snacks per day (HSCL-25: OR: 2·06, HTQ: OR: 1·93, high distress: OR: 2·68, P < 0·001 for all). No significant associations were found with HAZ, WAZ, WHZ, stunting or underweight indicators.Conclusions:More severe symptoms of maternal mental health problems were positively associated with child diet, but not anthropometry indicators. More research is needed to understand the role of maternal mental health in child feeding practices in food insecure and resource-poor settings.

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Maternal mental health symptoms are positively related to emotional and restrained eating attitudes in a statewide sample of mothers participating in a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and young children

Maternal and Child Nutrition ◽

10.1111/mcn.12247 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jillian A. Emerson ◽

Kristen M. Hurley ◽

Laura E. Caulfield ◽

Maureen M. Black

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young Children ◽

Maternal Mental Health ◽

Eating Attitudes ◽

Restrained Eating ◽

Mental Health Symptoms ◽

Supplemental Nutrition ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Supplemental Nutrition Program ◽

Infants And Young Children

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Risk and resilience of well-being in caregivers of young children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Translational Behavioral Medicine ◽

10.1093/tbm/ibaa124 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bridget Davidson ◽

Ellyn Schmidt ◽

Carolina Mallar ◽

Farah Mahmoud ◽

William Rothenberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Young Children ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Psychosocial Problems ◽

Well Being ◽

Risk And Resilience ◽

Family Needs ◽

Mental Health Symptoms ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Caregiver Mental Health

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting communities worldwide, with direct effects of illness and mortality, and indirect effects on economies, workplaces, schools/daycares, and social life. However, we understand very little about the effects of this pandemic on families of young children. We used a risk and resilience model to evaluate the effects of the pandemic on mental health in diverse caregivers (N = 286) with children ages birth to 5. We evaluated the hypotheses that (a) pandemic stress and caregiver-reported child psychosocial concerns correlate with caregivers’ mental health symptoms and (b) caregivers’ pandemic-related self-efficacy and coping mediate these relationships. Caregivers completed surveys in April–May 2020 assessing pandemic stress (e.g., health, finances, and housing), child psychosocial problems, coping strategies, and self-efficacy to manage family needs. Our primary outcome was caregivers’ self-reported changes in mental health symptoms since the outbreak. Path analysis revealed that higher pandemic stress was associated with caregivers’ reduced confidence in meeting their family’s needs related to COVID-19, which correlated with worse caregiver mental health symptoms. Greater child psychosocial problems also predicted worse caregiver mental health symptoms. Findings suggest that pandemic stress, child psychosocial problems, and caregiver self-efficacy are interrelated in their influence on caregivers’ mental health. While further research is needed to examine strategies to foster resilience and buffer the pandemic’s effects on caregiver mental health, this is a first step in evaluating the psychosocial effects of this pandemic in families of young children. Clinical implications are discussed for a tiered response to mitigate the pandemic’s impacts on family functioning.

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