University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The effects of parental resiliency on children’s health adjustment

Villegas, Elizabeth Marie

Content Files
VILLEGAS-THESIS-2017.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/97687

Description

Title
The effects of parental resiliency on children’s health adjustment
Author(s)
Villegas, Elizabeth Marie
Issue Date
2017-04-27
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Wiley, Angela R.
Committee Member(s)
Raffaeli, Marcela
Department of Study
Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies
Discipline
Human Dvlpmt & Family Studies
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2017-08-10T20:32:50Z
Keyword(s)
  • Hispanic health
  • Family resiliency model
  • Stress
  • Food insecurity
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore maternal resiliency patterns regarding family health behaviors and outcomes in vulnerable populations. With increasing rates of Hispanic childhood obesity and disproportionate health disparities, this is an issue that must be better understood. Altogether, 100 Mexican and Puerto Rican immigrant mothers from Illinois and California completed questionnaires reporting their stressors, protective mechanics, and family health behaviors. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher perceived stress levels for mothers predicted mealtime distractions, non-nutritive snacking reasons, and child’s diet quality. The interaction between stress and social support was a significant predictor of non-nutritive snacking reasons, and the results indicate that high levels of social support more so than average and low levels of support predict a higher frequency of non-nutritive snacking. Stress and chaos also predicted non-nutritive snacking, particularly when chaos levels were high and average compared to low levels of chaos. There were no significant findings for food insecurity as a predictor of these health behavior adjustment outcomes. Taken together, maternal stressors play a role in family health behaviors, and further studies should take these factors into account when trying to understand protective mechanisms for families.
Graduation Semester
2017-05
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/97687
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2017 Elizabeth Villegas

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