Wilson, Warren M.Hoehn, Natasha Christine2018-09-202018-09-202018-09-10http://hdl.handle.net/1880/107799Approximately 25% of individuals worldwide will experience a common mental disorder (CMD) in their lifetime, and previous studies have suggested that poor maternal mental health (MMH) is associated with negative child health and development outcomes. However, these studies use individual markers to represent overall child health status. An allostatic load (AL) index may provide a better understanding of overall health status by pooling together multiple markers of intermediary risk to poor health outcomes. Here, I tested for an association between the following variables in a cross-sectional sample of maternal-child dyads from rural Nicaragua: 1) MMH and individual child health measures. 2) MMH and a child AL index. Multiple regression analyses found no significant relationships between MMH and any of the outcome measures. However, a high prevalence of probable cases of CMDs (30.9%) was documented among mothers, indicating that mental health should be prioritized by local and regional health interventions.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Allostatic LoadMaternal Mental HealthGlobal Mental HealthAnthropologyAnthropology--PhysicalHealth SciencesHuman DevelopmentMental HealthPublic HealthPsychology--Physiologicalmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/32962