Examining Caregiver- and Family-Level Psychosocial Influences on Child Oral Health Behavioral Outcomes in Racially and Economically Minoritized Urban Families

• Published in: Children (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 7; p. 882
• Main Authors: Weinstein, Sally M, Lee, Helen H, Dziak, John J, Berbaum, Michael L, Zhang, Tong, Avenetti, David, Sandoval, Anna, Martin, Molly A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Anxiety; Behavior; Caregivers; Children; Children & youth; Cohort analysis; Data collection; Dental caries; Dental insurance; Families & family life; Family; Family structure; Health; Health behavior; Health disparities; household chaos; Households; Mediation; Mental depression; Mental health; oral health promotion; Oral hygiene; Pediatrics; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological aspects; psychosocial factors; social determinants of health; Social support; Toothbrushing; Variables; Illinois; United States > US; Chicago Illinois; social determinants of health; health disparities; psychosocial factors; pediatric dentistry; household chaos; toothbrushing; oral health promotion
• ISSN: 2227-9067; 2227-9067
• DOI: 10.3390/children11070882

Understanding the pathways linking caregiver- and family-level psychosocial factors and child oral health behaviors is critical for addressing oral health disparities. The current study examined the associations between caregiver psychosocial functioning and family chaos and child toothbrushing behaviors in children at high risk for poor oral health outcomes. Data were drawn from the baseline wave of the CO-OP Chicago Cohort Study (U01DE030067), a longitudinal study on child/caregiver dyads exploring oral health behaviors and caries development in young children ( = 296 dyads; child mean age = 5.36, SD = 1.03; caregiver mean age = 33.8 years, SD = 6.70; caregiver race = 43% Black; caregiver ethnicity = 55% Latinx). The oral health behavioral outcomes included child toothbrushing frequency, child plaque levels, and caregiver assistance with child toothbrushing. The data included demographics; caregiver depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, social functioning, social support, and resilience; and family-level household chaos. Multiple regression models indicated that greater household chaos was significantly related to lower caregiver assistance with child toothbrushing ( = 0.0075). Additionally, caregiver anxiety and PTSD symptoms as well as number of children in the home significantly predicted higher levels of household chaos ( < 0.01). Notably, 18% of caregivers reported clinically significant PTSD. The relationships between caregiver-level psychosocial factors and child oral health behaviors were not significant. The results suggest household chaos may play an important role in child oral health behaviors and highlight the importance of investigating family-level factors for understanding and addressing child oral health risk.