Table 2.

Descriptive statistics of the study sample (n = 1102): continuous variables (means and standard error)

Characteristics	Mean	SE
Child (individual) level
Birth order	3.29	0.11
Mother level
Age at first birth	21.11	0.15
Parity (number of children ever born)	3.38	0.11
Autonomy (Empowerment)a	3.34	0.1
Household level
Number of children under 5 years	2.33	0.07
Dietary diversity
Dietary diversity score (7 food groups)b	2.26	0.06
DDS by child age-group
6–11 months	1.76	0.08
12–17 months	2.54	0.10
18–23 months	2.48	0.12

^aThe mother’s empowerment index was constructed based upon her participation in various decisions and her opinion or attitude towards domestic violence on the number of circumstances that justified beating

^bDietary diversity score categorises all food items, consumed by a child (6–23 months old) over the 24 h immediately preceding the survey, into 7 food groups, as recommended by the WHO. It included: (1) staples (grains/cereals, roots and tubers), (2) legumes and nuts, (3) dairy products (milk, yogurt and cheese), (4) flesh foods (meat, fish, poultry and liver/organ meats), (5) eggs, (6) vitamin A-rich fruits and vegetables; and (7) other fruits and vegetables