Exploring the Relationship between Maternal Health Literacy, Parenting Self-Efficacy, and Early Parenting Practices among Low-Income Mothers with Infants

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of maternal health literacy (MHL), parenting self-efficacy and early parenting practices among low-income mothers with infants. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, descriptive correlational design. PARTICIPANTS: Low-income mothers (N=186) with infants. METHODS: Face-to-face interviews were conducted using English and Spanish versions of questionnaires by trained bilingual research assistants. The Newest Vital Sign (NVS) screening tool was used to measure MHL. RESULTS: Nearly three-quarters (72%) of mothers were rated as having low MHL. In the bivariate analysis, MHL was positively correlated with education, household income, language, social support, parenting self-efficacy, and early parenting practices, but negatively correlated with number of children. The study findings demonstrate that parenting self-efficacy had a mediating effect on MHL and early parenting practices among mothers with infants. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that future research is needed to advance MHL in low-income mothers and to inform potential HL interventions for this target population.