The Moderating Effect Of Maternal Responsiveness On Children’S Psychological Distress In Food Insecure Homes

Abstract

Food insecurity is a growing problem in the United States and other nations. For children, food insecurity not only negatively affects physical development, but psychological and cognitive development as well. Research indicates that children living without enough food display a wide range of emotional and behavior problems. Conversely, maternal responsiveness has been show to positively affect child psychosocial development, and may even buffer negative situations and adverse outcomes among children. The purpose of this study was to determine if maternal responsiveness protects children's psychological well-being from the negative consequences of living in food insecure homes. Contrary to the hypothesis, results showed that higher levels of maternal responsiveness were associated with higher Youth Self Reports of psychological distress under conditions of food insecurity. One possible reason for this may be that high responsiveness in the context of food insecurity may lead to being overly intrusive and/or worried about food. Keywords: food insecurity, maternal responsiveness, psychological distress, children