A mixed methods analysis of environmental and household chaos: considerations for early-childhood obesity research

Table 1 The distribution of participant characteristics from the full Play & Grow cohort compared to participant characteristics of our analytic sample

	Full Cohort (N = 299)		Analytic Sample (N = 283)		P value
	n	%	n	%	P value
Child Characteristics
Gestational Age at Birth
37–41 Completed Weeks (term)	188	62.9	181	64.0	0.10
< 37 Completed Weeks (preterm)	111	37.1	102	36.0
Sex
Boy	170	56.9	162	57.2	0.57
Girl	129	43.1	121	42.8
Primary Respondent Characteristics
Age (years) at enrollment
18 to < 21	7	2.3	7	2.5	0.02
21 to < 25	46	15.4	45	15.9
25 to < 30	63	21.1	56	19.8
30 to < 35	98	32.8	95	33.6
35 to < 40	62	20.7	59	20.8
40 or older	23	7.7	23	8.1
Race/Ethnicity
Non-Hispanic white	158	52.8	149	52.7	0.59
Non-Hispanic Black	111	37.1	104	36.7
Non-Hispanic other (includes multiple races)	17	5.7	17	6.0
Hispanic	13	4.3	13	4.6
Educational Attainment
High school diploma/GED or less	70	23.4	62	21.9	0.07
Some college	103	34.4	99	35.0
Bachelor’s degree	67	22.4	64	22.6
Post-graduate degree	59	19.7	58	20.5
Marital Status
Single/Never Married	56	18.7	52	18.4	0.08
Married	162	54.2	157	55.5
Living with Partner	64	21.4	57	20.1
Other	17	5.7	17	6.0
Household Characteristics
Number of Household Members
2 members	16	5.4	15	5.3	0.76
3 members	97	32.4	93	32.9
4 members	90	30.1	86	30.4
5 or more members	96	32.1	89	31.4
Food Insecurity
Food Secure	248	82.9	239	84.5	< 0.01
Food Insecure	51	17.1	44	15.5
Annual Household Income
< $20 thousand	78	26.1	72	25.4	< 0.01
$20 to < $50 thousand	89	29.8	79	27.9
$50 to < $90 thousand	57	19.1	57	20.1
$90 thousand or more	73	24.4	73	25.8
Missing	2	0.7	2	0.7

Note: Cohort characteristics were predominately reported by caregivers via survey during the 18-month (enrollment) visit for Play & Grow. P values were generated from Chi-square tests. Food insecurity was assessed using the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service’s guidelines for measuring food security. We coded families as having food insecurity if they indicated experiencing any level food insecurity in the 12-months prior to them completing our surveys

ISSN: 1471-2458