Determinants of maternal nutritional behavior for children 6 to 12 months with FTT based on social cognitive theory

Failure to thrive (FTT) is one of the most common and important health problems in children aged 6 to 12 months. Maternal behavioral factors are amongst the most critical causes of FTT in children. One of the most important theories to improve the nutritional behaviors is social cognitive theory. This study was conducted aiming to identify the determinants of maternal nutritional behavior for children 6 to 12 months with FTT based on SCT.

This analytic study applied stratified sampling to select 475 mothers of children 6 to 12 months with FTT who referred to health service centers in Torbat Heydariyeh. Data were analyzed by SPSS-24.

The mean age of mothers was 29 years and children was 8 months. Average score of motherschr('39') behaviors of 6.6± 1.8. There was a significant positive correlation between motherchr('39')s education, family income, age and weight of child with mother’s behavior (P<0.05). Regression results showed that Barrier self-efficacy, Outcome expectations and knowledge constructs had the most predictive effect on motherschr('39') behaviors with 6 to 12-month-old children with FTT(P<0.05).

Based on our findings, barrier self-efficacy, outcome expectations and knowledge constructs, can be used to promote the maternal behavior for children 6 to 12 months with FTT.