title: Infant and maternal predictors of early life feeding decisions. The timing of solid food introduction.
abstract: There is limited research on the maternal and infant characteristics associated with the timing of solid food introduction. The current study examined how maternal feeding style and infant temperament independently and interactively predicted the age at which infants were introduced to solid food. Data from 115 predominately white, middle-class mothers were collected when infants were 4 and 6 months of age. The timing of solid food introduction was positively correlated with mothers' age, education, breastfeeding at 4 months, self-reported responsiveness to infants' hunger and satiety cues, and negatively correlated with mothers' pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), beliefs about feeding infants solid food prior to 6 months of age, and infants' temperamental motor reactivity. When controlling for maternal age, education, pre-pregnancy BMI, and milk feeding method at 4 months, the timing of solid food introduction was negatively predicted by mothers' beliefs about feeding solid food prior to 6 months of age. Exploratory interaction analyses suggested that infant temperament marginally moderated maternal feeding style in predicting the timing of solid food introduction.
authors.affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University, 315 Health and Human Development-East Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: aed5142@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Allison E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Doub
authors.affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University, 315 Health and Human Development-East Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Kameron J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Moding
authors.affiliation: The Pennsylvania State University, 315 Health and Human Development-East Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Stifter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002657:Child Development; D004522:Educational Status; D005248:Feeding Methods; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007225:Infant Food; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009043:Motor Activity; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010414:Pennsylvania; D012528:Satiety Response
keywords: Complementary foods; Feeding style; Infancy; Maternal characteristics; Solid food introduction; Temperament