Relationships between pediatric obesity and maternal emotional states and attitudes
Aynur Pekcanlar Akay1, Yesim Ozturk2, Sibel Nur Avcil3
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
Insights
Mothers of children with obesity experience higher anxiety and altered family dynamics. Pediatric obesity impacts maternal mental health and family relationships, particularly in adolescence.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Family Studies
- Maternal Mental Health
Background:
- Childhood and adolescent obesity are significant public health concerns.
- Maternal mental health and family dynamics are crucial factors in child development.
- The psychological impact of pediatric obesity on mothers requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine depression and anxiety in mothers of children (7-11 years) and adolescents (12-18 years) with obesity.
- To assess maternal attitudes toward children and family relationships in the context of pediatric obesity.
- To explore the relationship between offspring obesity, developmental stage, and maternal psychometric variables.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional, case-control study involving 100 mother-offspring dyads.
- Mothers completed standardized instruments: Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Parental Attitude Research Instrument, and Family Assessment Device.
- Data analysis compared mothers of children with obesity to controls.
Main Results:
- Maternal state anxiety was significantly higher in mothers of children with obesity (p=0.03).
- Family Assessment Device scores indicated significantly higher affective involvement (p=0.05) and behavior control (p=0.00) in mothers of children with obesity.
- Obesity and adolescence independently affected maternal state anxiety; family functioning domains were influenced by obesity and its interaction with adolescence.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric obesity adversely affects maternal well-being and family relationships.
- Offspring obesity and developmental stage differentially impact maternal psychometric variables.
- Longitudinal studies are recommended to establish causality due to the cross-sectional design.
Objective:
The goal of this study was to investigate depression and anxiety levels of mothers whose child (7-11 years) and adolescent (12-18 years) offspring had obesity, as well as those mothers' attitudes toward their children and their family relationships.
Method:
This is a cross-sectional, case-control study of 100 dyads. All mothers completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Parental Attitude Research Instrument, and the Family Assessment Device.
Results:
Maternal state anxiety in the group with obesity was significantly higher than controls (p = 0.03). As measured by Family Assessment Device, affective involvement (p = 0.05) and behavior control (p = 0.00) scores were significantly higher for those with obesity. Obesity and adolescence have independent effects on maternal state anxiety; affective involvement domain of family function is affected by both obesity and its interaction with adolescence, while behavior control domain is singularly affected by obesity.
Conclusions:
Our results may demonstrate that, for the mothers of children who have obesity, this condition may have an adverse effect on their lives and their family relationships. Pediatric obesity and developmental stage of offspring may have different effects on maternally reported psychometric variables. Cross-sectional design may hinder causal explanations. Further studies with longitudinal designs are needed.
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