Influences of mothers' and fathers' income on children's nutritional status in Guatemala

Abstract

The relative effects of fathers' and mothers' income on children's nutritional status were examined with a sample of 294 peri-urban Guatemalan children aged 8–47 months. Whether or not incomes tended to be pooled, and the relation of income earning to decision-making about purchases were examined. Four measures of income were constructed for both mother and father: total income, contribution to the household food budget, percentage of her/his income contributed to the household food budget, and a percentage of total family income earned by that person. In the majority of households, women did not report pooling their incomes. Women who earned a higher proportion of the family income had significantly more control over decision-making in all areas except food purchases, which were already primarily women's decisions. Relationships of income measures with children's nutritional status were examined with multiple linear regression analyses controlling for potentially confounding variables. For mothers, the percentage of the total family income they earned was most highly associated with children's nutritional status, suggesting that income control by mothers may have benefits for children. For fathers, the percentage of their income they contributed to the household food budget was most highly associated with children's nutritional status, suggesting that father investment or attitude toward children has important benefits for children.