Parental Characteristics and Their Association with Stunting among Toddlers in Sungai Rengit Village, South Sumatra

¹ Food Science Department, University of Muhammadiyah Palembang, Palembang 30129, South Sumatera, Indonesia
² Department of Food Technology, Sriwijaya State Polytechnic, Palembang 30139, South Sumatra, Indonesia
³ University of Widyagama Mahakam Samarinda, Samarinda 75124, East Kalimantan, Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Agricultural Economics, Federal University Dutsin-M, Katsina, Nigeria
⁵ University of Ar-raniry Aceh, Banda Aceh 23111, Aceh, Indonesia.
⁶ Department of Law, Faculty of Law, Lumajang University, Lumajang 67381, East Java, Indonesia
⁷ Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Lumajang University, Lumajang 67381 East Java, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Stunting, a chronic form of undernutrition marked by impaired linear growth, remains a significant public health concern in Indonesia. This study aimed to examine the association between parental characteristics and the incidence of stunting among toddlers in Sungai Rengit Village, South Sumatra. A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2024 to March 2025, involving 100 children aged 12-59 months selected through purposive sampling. The variables examined included parental education, parental occupation, and maternal age at the time of marriage. Anthropometric data were collected using WHO standards, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS version 24, including Chi-square tests and the Mann-Whitney U test. The results showed that although the Chi-square test revealed no statistically significant association between individual parental characteristics and stunting (p > 0.05), the MannWhitney U test indicated a significant difference in height-for-age Z-scores between stunted and non-stunted children (p = 0.000). These findings suggest that parental characteristics may play an indirect yet important role in shaping children's nutritional outcomes through lifestyle, food access, and caregiving practices. Strengthening family-level interventions may therefore be essential in addressing stunting in rural Indonesian communities.