How Diet Impacts the Relationship between Intimate Partner Aggression and Child Conduct Problems
Abstract The positive relationship between intimate partner aggression (IPA) and child conduct problems (CP) is an established research finding in the literature, suggesting that exposure to IPA can negatively impact on children’s behaviour. The relationship between diet and children’s behaviour is also an established research finding, suggesting that a ‘healthy’ diet can buffer against, while an ‘unhealthy’ diet can exacerbate, child behavioural problems.
These established relationships lead us to create hypotheses that test whether maternal and child dietary patterns can moderate the relationship between minor IPA and child CP, which is yet to be explored. It is hypothesised that both the maternal and child 'healthy' dietary patterns will act as a protective factor for CP in children who are exposed to IPA. The current study is based on the dataset from the Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) study, which is New Zealand’s biggest and continuing longitudinal study with over 6,000 children. Diet was measured antenatally for the mother and at child age 2 and 4.5. Minor IPA was measured antenatally and when the child was 9 months through mother and partner reports. CP was measured via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at age 2, 4.5 and 8.
Structural equation models showed significant effects of IPA on CP for all time points. Both 'healthy' and 'junk' diet had varying impacts on child CP, with mainly positive effects of ‘healthy’ diet and negative effects of ‘junk diet on child CP. However, moderation effects of diet for the relationship between IPA and CP did not withstand multiple comparisons, indicating no moderating effect of diet. Implications of the research suggest that broader dietary patterns may not need further investigation in this context as IPA is a predictor of CP that is not changed by diet. Despite no significant buffering effects, the direct effects of the maternal and child diet allow the recommendation of incorporating diet as a key component in the prevention and intervention of children with behavioural problems.
