Examining Material Hardship in Mothers: Associations of Diaper Need and Food Insufficiency with Maternal Depressive Symptoms.

Anna E. Austin,Megan V. Smith

doi:10.1089/heq.2016.0023

Abstract

Objectives: Material hardship represents a potential mechanism by which poverty influences the mental health of mothers. This study examined the association between two forms of material hardship, diaper need and food insufficiency, and maternal depressive symptoms.Methods: Data were from a cross-sectional study of 296 urban, pregnant or parenting, low-income women. A linear regression model was used to examine the association of maternal depressive symptoms, measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) score, with diaper need and food insufficiency, after adjustment for demographic factors.Results: More than half of women reported diaper need (50.3%) and food insufficiency (54.7%). Nearly one-third of women who reported diaper need did not report food insufficiency (32.2%). In bivariate analyses, diaper need and food insufficiency were associated with maternal CES-D score. In multivariate analyses, women who reported diaper need had a significantly higher CES-D score than women who did not report diaper need (β=3.5, p=0.03). Women who reported food insufficiency did not have a significantly higher CES-D score than women who did not report food insufficiency (β=2.4, p=0.15).Conclusions: Diaper need is a form of material hardship that has received little attention in the research literature. Diapers, unlike food, are currently not an allowable expense in U.S. antipoverty programs. Diaper need may contribute to maternal depressive symptoms, beyond the contribution of other forms of material hardship, because there are no supports in place to provide assistance meeting this basic need. Importantly, diaper need is a malleable factor amenable to public health and policy interventions.

Highlights

In the United States, 14.8% of individuals live in poverty.[1]Estimates consistently show that racial and ethnic minorities, women, children, and families headed by single women are vulnerable to poverty.[2]
Poverty is a well-established risk factor in the etiology of a number of mental disorders with studies consistently demonstrating an association between low-socioeconomic status and increased risk for poor mental health.[3,4]
This study found that 30% of mothers reported diaper need and that diaper need was significantly associated with high levels of self-reported mental distress in mothers.[18]

Summary

Introduction

Estimates consistently show that racial and ethnic minorities, women, children, and families headed by single women are vulnerable to poverty.[2] Poverty is a well-established risk factor in the etiology of a number of mental disorders with studies consistently demonstrating an association between low-socioeconomic status and increased risk for poor mental health.[3,4] Research suggests that mothers with young children living in poverty are at a increased risk of depression. Among low-income mothers of young children in the U.S results from several community-based studies estimate the prevalence of clinically significant depression to be between 16% and 48%, depending on the sample and measurement of depression.[5,6,7,8,9,10].

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Conclusion