The moderating role of father involvement in the association between maternal depression and child nutrition: A cross-sectional study in rural Malawi

This study highlights the critical role of fathers in improving child dietary diversity in low-resource setting, particularly in the context of maternal mental health challenges. Using cross-sectional data of 333 mother-father-child triads in rural Malawi, we examine the association between paternal involvement and child dietary diversity among children aged between 24-60 months. Our findings show that greater father involvement is significantly associated with higher child dietary diversity scores, even after accounting for maternal depressive symptoms. Importantly, we identify a significant interaction between father involvement and maternal depressive symptoms: paternal engagement buffer the negative effects of maternal mental health challenges on children's diets. However, father involvement does not correlate with household-level dietary diversity, suggesting that paternal contributions are targeted specifically toward children- primarily through the reallocation of nutrient-rich, animal-sourced foods. These results underscore the importance of culturally sensitive, family-centered nutrition interventions that actively engage fathers while addressing maternal mental health to improve child nutrition outcomes in low-resource contexts.