Family socioeconomic status, parental attention, and health behaviors in middle childhood: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

This study examined the relationships among family socioeconomic status, parental attention, and health behaviors in children during middle childhood. For this descriptive cross-sectional study, six elementary schools in a metropolitan city in South Korea were selected for recruitment. We surveyed 857 elementary school students aged 8 to 10 years by using self-report questionnaires. A hierarchical multilinear regression analysis found that family socioeconomic status positively related to children's health behaviors and that parental attention had a moderating effect on this relationship. These results suggest that family socioeconomic status influences health behaviors from the child's perspective. The influence of family socioeconomic status on children's health behaviors might be weakened by parental attention. Healthcare providers should be aware of children's health behaviors and focus interventions on families with low socioeconomic status. Nurses should emphasize to parents that parental supervision and monitoring might benefit their children and improve their health behaviors.