Maternal Health and Child Behaviors as Risk Factors for Child Injury

Abstract

MATERNAL HEALTH AND CHILD BEHAVIORS AS RISK FACTORS FOR CHILD INJURY By Christina J. Nicolais, B.A. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Director: Marilyn Stern, Ph.D. Affiliate Professor of Psychology and Pediatrics Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics Evidence suggests that child behavior, parent mental health, parent supervision, and home environment conditions impact a child’s risk of injury. Vulnerable families are at greater risk for the occurrence of child behavior problems, poor health, decreased supervision, and hazardous home conditions. Consistent with a model that proposes that parent, child, and environment factors interact within the lens of sociocultural factors to predict injury, the current study aimed to test a statistical model with maternal physical health and child externalizing behaviors as predictors of child injury, and home hazards and supervision as mediators of these relations. Analyses were conducted using a nationally representative sample of 3,288 vulnerable motherchild dyads. Results showed significant relations between parent physical health and child injury, and child aggression and child injury, though home hazards and supervision did not mediate either of these relations. Further research should continue to examine the mechanisms of action in the parent healthchild injury relation so that injury prevention interventions can be