The Influence of Mothers’ Knowledge on Stunting Prevention Behavior in Low-Income Communities in Kulon Progo District

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-571-3_34How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Maternal Knowledge; Prevention Behaviors; Stunting; Low-Income Communities

Abstract

Stunting is a public health problem that occurs frequently in low-income families and is closely related to mothers’ knowledge and parenting behaviors. This study aims to analyze the effect of mothers’ knowledge on stunting prevention behaviors in toddlers in Kulon Progo District. The study design used a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional method and involved 355 mothers who had toddlers with malnutrition or low body weight. Sampling was conducted using purposive sampling. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results showed that most mothers had moderate to high knowledge about stunting, and their stunting prevention behaviors were in the adequate to good category. SEM-PLS analysis showed that mothers’ knowledge had a positive and significant effect on stunting prevention behaviors (O = 0.226; T = 5.660; p = 0.000). Good knowledge about the definition, causes, impacts, and prevention strategies for stunting was found to improve important practices such as early breastfeeding initiation, adequate complementary feeding, complete immunization, utilization of integrated health service posts (posyandu), care for sick children, and the implementation of clean and healthy living behaviors. This study concludes that knowledge is the main determinant influencing stunting prevention behaviors among mothers, especially in low-income communities. Nutrition education programs, health counseling, and empowerment of posyandu cadres are recommended as effective strategies to improve health literacy and strengthen stunting prevention practices at the family level.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Endah Puji Astuti
AU  - Endang Sutisna Sulaeman
AU  - Eni Lestari
AU  - Haryani Saptaningtyas
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/06
TI  - The Influence of Mothers’ Knowledge on Stunting Prevention Behavior in Low-Income Communities in Kulon Progo District
BT  - Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Multidisciplinary Studies 2025 (ICOMSI 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 406
EP  - 415
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-571-3_34
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-571-3_34
ID  - Astuti2026
ER  -