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Family socioeconomic status and maternal depressive symptoms: Mediation through household food insecurity across five years
To assess the relationship between poverty, depression, and food insecurity, Wu et al. (2018) designed this study to inspect family socioeconomic status (SES), maternal depression, and household food insecurity across children’s first five years of life. Data were extracted from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a dataset nationally representative of all children born in the United States in 2001. Socioeconomic status was documented by the mother when their children were nine months, 24 months, four years, and at kindergarten entry, while ratings on maternal depressive symptoms were collected at nine months, four years, and kindergarten entry. The research found that family socioeconomic status was predictive of subsequent household food insecurity, which was in turn linked with maternal depressive symptoms further down the timeline. There was also evidence showing household food insecurity mediates the relationship between family socioeconomic status and maternal depressive signs. Household food insecurity may play a big role in the development of the mother’s depression, particularly in poorer families. This study highlights the importance of taking into account food insecurity in service provision to depressed mothers and their under-resourced family. [NPID: food insecurity, mental health, depression, poverty, maternal depression, socioeconomic status]
Year: 2018
