Table 2.
Participant characteristics (n=40)1
| Age of participating mothers and their children: | |
| Mean mother age in years (SD)2 | 32.1 (5.5) |
| Mean child age in years (SD) | 3.6 (.5) |
| Married or living with a partner (%) | 82.5 |
| Educational status (%): | |
| Less than high school | 40.0 |
| High school diploma or GED 3 | 50.0 |
| Some college or college graduate | 10.0 |
| Work status (%): | |
| Homemaker | 75.0 |
| Worked part-time or full-time for pay | 20.0 |
| Unable to work or disabled | 5.0 |
| Nativity: | |
| Born outside the U.S. (%) | 97.5 |
| Mean number of years lived in the U.S. among foreign-born mothers (SD) | 11.8 (5.0) |
| Acculturation (%): | |
| Strong Mexican orientation | 82.5 |
| Strong Anglo orientation | 5.0 |
| Weak Mexican and Anglo orientation | 2.5 |
| Strong Mexican and Anglo orientation | 10.0 |
| Language use (%): | |
| “Almost always” speaks Spanish | 92.5 |
| “Almost always” speaks English | 7.5 |
| Child sex (male, %) | 60.0 |
| Mean number of children under the age of 18 living in the home (SD) | 2.8 (1.6) |
| Usual care arrangements for child (weekdays, %): | |
| Mostly in mother’s care | 87.5 |
| Mostly with a babysitter or in day care | 10.0 |
| Mostly with child’s father | 2.5 |
| Food security over prior 12 months (%): | |
| High or marginal food security | 50.0 |
| Low food security | 32.5 |
| Very low food security | 17.5 |
| Mean perceived control over child’s behavior at home (SD): 4 | |
| What drinks are given to child | 3.7 (1.0) |
| What food is given to child | 3.7 (1.1) |
| How much physical activity child gets | 2.6 (1.2) |
| How much time child spends watching television | 3.2 (1.2) |
| How much time child spends playing computer or video games | 3.9 (1.2) |
| How much time child spends sleeping | 2.8 (1.3) |
| Mean decision-making preferences for child feeding (SD): 5 | |
| Prefers for a doctor to tell her what to do | 3.8 (1.3) |
| Prefers to do what husband wishes her to do | 3.1 (1.5) |
| Prefers to get advice from maternal grandmother | 2.8 (1.5) |
| Prefers to come up with a plan with husband about what to do | 4.4 (9.0) |
| Prefers to get advice from friends | 1.9 (1.3) |
| Prefers to make her own decisions | 4.4 (1.0) |
1
Data are complete for most of the variables described below, but, for some statistics the n is slightly less than 40.
2
SD = standard deviation
3
GED = The General Educational Development Tests, which assess knowledge and skills comparable to a high school-level education in the U.S.
4
Response options included: “no control”, “a little control”, “a medium amount of control”, “a lot of control”, or “complete control.”
5
Response options ranged from one (“strongly disagree”) to five (“strongly agree”).