Mother-child relationship: The predictors of early food refusal

It is known that nutrition is an indispensable part of a healthy life. An effective nutrition supports both the growth and development of the child at all ages (Özmert, 2005). Nutritional problems can be encountered from the first years of life. The most important nutritional problems in children are generally defined as food refusal (Williams, Field and Seiverling, 2010). In the current study examining the predictors of early food refusal within the context of mother-child relationship; the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between early food refusal in children aged 9-60 months and mothers' marital satisfaction, perceived social support, adult attachment styles, and mother's attitudes towards the feeding process. Since the developmental periods differ, the sample was examined in two separate groups as 9-36 months of infancy and 37-60 months of early childhood. The data of 271 mothers aged between 25-50 (Mean=35, SD=4), married and having only one child between 9-60 months of age were included in the study. The research data was collected using Sociodemographic Form, Infancy Adaptive Eating Behavior Scale (BDUYDÖ), Early Childhood Adaptive Eating Behavior Scale (EÇDUYDÖ), Marital Life Scale, Mother's Attitudes Towards the Feeding Process Scale (BSATÖ), Relationships Scales Questionnaire (RSQ), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). According to the collected data; the rate of food refusal in the 9-36 month period was found to be higher compared to the 36-60 month period. In terms of mother's attitudes towards the feeding process, it was found that negative affect during meals and negative feeding strategies were positively correlated with food refusal in the 9-60 month range. When examined in terms of adult attachment styles, it was found that secure attachment and fearful attachment styles were negatively correlated with 9-36 months of infancy eating refusal. Marriage satisfaction was found to be negatively correlated with 36-60 months of early eating refusal. Results of this study are evaluated under the related literature.