Marital Conflict and Healthy Dietary Habits Among Preschoolers: A Study of the Experience of Coupled Women in Urban Mexico

ABSTRACT

In Mexico social dynamics are changing toward less traditional arrangements. With a qualitative interview study, we explore the link between marital conflict and mothers’ ability to foster healthy dietary habits. Sample consisted of 21 middle-class cohabitating mothers of preschoolers. Results suggests that marital conflict leads women to experiences of tension, ambivalence, or inaction on fostering healthy eating habits. Parents’ mismatch in gender beliefs, food preferences, time orientation, and risk aversion play a role in creating disagreements. When men participate, women feel “helped” and grateful, but the forms and extent of desired participation may vary among traditional, ambivalent and non-traditional women.

KEYWORDS:

• Healthy dietary habits
• marital conflict
• Mexico
• parenting
• preschoolers

Acknowledgments

Authors thank this study’s participants for sharing their stories. They also thank Mexico’s National Council for Science and Technology for supporting the doctoral studies of the first author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

ZTL-I and LG-R contributed to the conceptualization of the study. ZTL-I analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript. ZTL-I, LG-R, PM, AG and BD revised the manuscript.

Data availability statement

Data can be shared upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was partially funded with the Grant-in-Aid Award 2020 for doctoral research of Indiana University-Bloomington.