Latina immigrant mothers face complex challenges as they try to ensure their children get adequate nourishment to grow up healthy in their new U.S. communities. Eighty‐three Latina immigrant mothers living in a rural area of a Midwestern state who had young children and low household incomes were interviewed to explore their satisfaction with the food their children were eating, as well as ecological factors that affected children's eating patterns. Three overarching themes emerged from the data: (i) Mothers as gatekeepers of healthy child eating; (ii) Barriers to healthy child eating; and (iii) Changing child eating patterns. Mothers retained their cultural identity as primary caregivers and wanted their children to consume nourishing food. Mothers varied in their ability to negotiate their new food environments to maintain cultural food practices and promote healthy child eating patterns. Family and consumer science professionals could facilitate opportunities to (i) link immigrant families to Extension Master Gardeners to learn techniques to successfully grow food in a new climate; (ii) bring immigrant families, school food service staff, growers and grocers together to strategize how to increase children's access to locally grown food at school; (iii) assist immigrant families in identifying strategies to maintain healthy cultural food traditions while consuming less fat, salt, and sugar; and (iv) increase representation of immigrant families on school and community program advisory committees to ensure policies and programs are informed by families. Such opportunities can strengthen social capital among immigrant families and their community and support healthy child eating patterns.

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A risk and resilience framework (Patterson, 2002) was used to examine longitudinal relationships among food insecurity, depressive symptoms, parenting confidence, perceived parenting support, and knowledge of community resources. Data from "Rural Families Speak" (a multi-state longitudinal study of rural low-income families) were analyzed using path analysis for 314 rural mothers with low incomes. Results show that food insecurity and depressive symptoms in Wave 1 predicted increased depressive symptoms in Wave 2, and depressive symptoms in Wave 2 were related to decreased perceived parenting support and parenting confidence in Wave 2. Knowledge of community resources in Wave 1 moderated the relationship between depressive symptoms in Wave 1 and perceived parenting support in Wave 2, and the relationship between food insecurity in Wave 1 and parenting confidence in Wave 2.Implications of the impact of food insecurity and depressive symptoms on parenting among rural low-income mothers are discussed.

This thesis examined depression and parenting self-efficacy in context with individual and family variables, in two different studies. Data were aggregated from a multi-state, longitudinal research project that examined the effects of the 1996 welfare reform on the functioning and well-being of rural families with low household incomes. Both studies used path analysis to determine the relations between variables, and test for moderation effects. The first study examined relations between food insecurity, depression, parenting selfefficacy and perceived parenting support, with knowledge of community resources acting as a moderator. The second study examined relations between depression, parenting selfefficacy and family functioning, with financial pressure as a moderator. The results showed that depression and food insecurity predict each other over time, and that depression negatively affects parenting self-efficacy, perceived parenting support, and family functioning. Knowledge of community resources and financial pressure were found to be moderators of specific paths in the models. These results suggest that rural families with low income, especially those who experience financial pressure, would benefit from mental health services that address maternal depression within the context of the family. Additionally, since depression and food insecurity are linked, mental health professionals should consider making families aware of food assistance programs for which they may qualify, and food assistance program personnel may consider partnering with mental health professionals.

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