Breastfeeding moderates the association between family socioeconomic status and child behavior scores

Bibliographic Data

ID22076232
AuthorsSarah E Turner (0000-0002-6506-6567, Manitoba Health), Leslie Roos (Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba), Nathan C Nickel (Manitoba Health), J Pei (0000-0002-2268-2191, University of Alberta), Sukhpreet K Tamana (0000-0001-5835-7238, University of British Columbia), Theo J Moraes (0000-0001-9968-6601, University of Toronto), Stuart E Turvey (0000-0003-1599-1065, University of British Columbia), Elinor Simons (0000-0002-1620-2606, Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba), Padmaja Subbarao (0000-0003-0394-1933, Hospital for Sick Children), Piushkumar J Mandhane (University of Alberta), Meghan B Azad (0000-0002-5942-4444, Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba)
Year2026
Volume13
Pages1653185-1653185
Publication date2026-02-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFrontiers in Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2296-2565 • E-ISSN: 2296-2565
PublisherFrontiers Media SA (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3389/fpubh.2025.1653185
PMID41710138
OpenAlexW7127278014
LanguageEN
References cited24

Background Children living in low socioeconomic status (SES) environments are more likely to develop behavior problems. Breastfeeding is one behavior that has been positively linked to mental health throughout childhood. We investigated whether breastfeeding modifies the association between low SES and behavior problems. Methods We studied a subset of the Canadian CHILD cohort ( N = 2,342). Lower SES ( n = 592) was defined as one or more of: (1) low income based on family size, (2) single parenthood, or (3) maternal education below a post-secondary degree. Breastfeeding was reported by caregivers from birth to 2 years. The Child Behavior Checklist (mean 50, SD (10), comprising internalizing, externalizing, and total behavior scores) was administered at 5 years. We tested main effects and interactions between SES and breastfeeding on child behavior, adjusting for several maternal and child characteristics. Results Lower SES was related to higher (worse) behavior scores ( B = 2.06 [95%CI: 1.06, 3.07] for total behavior scores), while longer and more exclusive breastfeeding was related to lower (better) behavior scores ( B = −2.43 [95% CI: −3.74, −1.11] for exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months, compared to no breastfeeding, for total behavior scores). We observed significant interactions between longer and more exclusive breastfeeding and family SES on internalizing and total behavior scores, indicating that the “socioeconomic gap” in behavior scores becomes smaller with more exclusive and longer breastfeeding. Conclusion This study provides new evidence that breastfeeding may be one factor that can help reduce socioeconomic inequities in child behavior scores

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System · Breast feeding · Breastfeeding · Health behavior · Socioeconomic status · Breastfeeding Practices and Influences · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum