Abstract
This study examined the ways in which diet quality affects the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and anxiety symptoms in children ages 9-12 years. With the median age of onset for anxiety being 11 years of age, it is imperative that researchers gain a deeper understanding of factors that surround this critical period of development. Diet quality, measured in this study by the nutritional value of the foods children regularly consume, has been associated with both anxiety and SES. However, the interactions between these three variables – diet quality, anxiety, and SES – have rarely been evaluated. Therefore, the goal of the current study was to determine how exactly these three variables are related and, furthermore, how diet quality impacts the previously established relationship between SES and anxiety symptoms. To do this, children’s anxiety symptoms were assessed through the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS) by both the children themselves (SCAS-C) as well as one of their parents or legal guardians (SCAS-P). The same parent or legal guardian was asked to complete the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI-AD), a self-report anxiety rating scale. Additionally, sociodemographic information was collected from parents or legal guardians through an adapted version of the sociodemographic questionnaire developed by the MacArthur Network on SES and Health. Lastly, parents or legal guardians were asked a series of questions via an adapted version of the Food-Mood Questionnaire about their children’s dietary habits. These five surveys were used in conjunction to evaluate if and/or how diet quality affects the relationship between SES and anxiety symptoms in children. Results showed that diet quality did not affect the relationship between SES and anxiety symptoms in children in the way that was hypothesized. However, main effects revealed an association between SES and diet quality, with higher SES being related to better diet quality. Additionally, main effects revealed an association between higher SES and fewer reported anxiety symptoms (as reported by both parents and children).