title: Material Hardship and Internal Locus of Control Over the Prevention of Child Obesity in Low-Income Hispanic Pregnant Women.
abstract: To determine the relations between household material hardships and having a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity in low-income Hispanic pregnant women.
  
  
  
  We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected during a third trimester prenatal visit from women participating in the Starting Early Study, a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a primary care-based family-centered early child obesity prevention intervention. Using multiple logistic regression analyses, we determined whether 4 domains of material hardship (food insecurity, difficulty paying bills, housing disrepair, neighborhood stress), considered individually and also cumulatively, were associated with having a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity.
  
  
  
  The sample included 559 low-income Hispanic pregnant women, with 60% having experienced at least 1 hardship. Food insecurity was independently associated with a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity (adjusted odds ratio, 2.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.50-3.77), controlling for other hardships and confounders. Experiencing a greater number of material hardships was associated in a dose-dependent relationship with an increased odds of having a low internal locus of control.
  
  
  
  Prenatal material hardships, in particular food insecurity, were associated with having a lower prenatal internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity. Longitudinal follow-up of this cohort is needed to determine how relations between material hardships and having a low internal locus of control will ultimately affect infant feeding practices and child weight trajectories.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY. Electronic address: rgross@montefiore.org.
authors: Rachel S
authors: RS
authors: Gross
authors: Division of Developmental - Behavioral Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, NY.
authors: Alan L
authors: AL
authors: Mendelsohn
authors: Division of General Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, NY.
authors: Michelle B
authors: MB
authors: Gross
authors: Research and Evaluation Unit, Public Health Solutions, New York, NY.
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: Scheinmann
authors: Division of General Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital Center, New York, NY.
authors: Mary Jo
authors: MJ
authors: Messito
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D004293:Dominican Republic / Q000208:ethnology; D004484:Ecuador / Q000208:ethnology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D017058:Mexican Americans; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D014481:United States
keywords: infant; locus of control; obesity; poverty; pregnancy; weight