Laura Hubbs-Tait

Oklahoma State University - Stillwater | Oklahoma State · Department of Human Development and Family Science

Background Recent studies indicate that parent education programs that include content to enhance parents’ mental states may prove efficacious in improving parenting behavior and child outcomes. Objective This study presents findings from a national evaluation of the Active Parenting First Five Years (FFY) program. This group-based parent educatio...

Parents substantially influence children’s diet and physical activity behaviors, which consequently impact childhood obesity risk. Given this influence of parents, the objective of this umbrella review was to synthesize evidence on effects of parent involvement in diet and physical activity treatment and prevention interventions on obesity risk amo...

This cluster randomized controlled trial aimed at overweight and obese children compared three treatments. Two psychoeducation interventions for parents and children were conducted: Family Lifestyle (FL) focused on food and physical activity; Family Dynamics (FD) added parenting and healthy emotion management. A third Peer Group (PG) intervention t...

The nature of the association between dietary restraint and weight has been examined in adult samples, but much less is known about this relationship among children. The current study examined the transactional associations among restrained eating behavior and weight among boys and girls during middle childhood. Data for this study came from 263 ch...

Objective: To examine the differences in family eating behaviors and child eating patterns in children with siblings (nonsingletons) and without siblings (singletons). Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of mother-child dyads of 5-7-year-old children, (nonsingletons with a 2-to-4-year-old sibling) was conducted. Anthropometrics were measured. Moth...

SYNOPSIS Objective: Early childhood weight predicts later weight, so there is need for longitudinal research to identify key factors in the development of childhood obesity, especially among vulnerable populations. Design: This study examines the links between parenting styles and child obesity across three waves (Mages = 6.90, 7.34, and 8.28 years...

Background/Context: Children without siblings (singletons) have higher rates of obesity than do children with siblings (nonsingletons). Higher moderate to vigorous physical activity (PA) and less sedentary behavior (SB) are associated with lower childhood obesity. Purpose: To examine the difference in PA and SB between singleton and nonsingleton...

During the developmental period of 6–12 months, infants deepen and solidify their developing relationships. By 6 or 7 months of age, attachments to and preference for primary caregivers are observable. Infants also begin to exhibit fear of strangers and actively seek proximity to attachment figures during this time. Chapter 4 presents research on t...

In recent years, researchers and policy makers have recognized that obesity in childhood is not simply a medical problem, but is a complex social and psychological phenomenon. Our research team has utilized an interpersonal and intrapersonal risk model for examining a broad range of psychosocial aspects of obesity among children in rural population...

Relationships of African-American and Hispanic fathers' feeding practices and weight concerns and preschoolers' desire to drink with children's beverage intake were examined, and associations between fathers' feeding practices and children's weight status were evaluated. Fathers' (Hispanic n = 61, African- American n = 49) difficulty in child feedi...

Children's involvement in beverage selection or purchase has seldom been investigated. The responsiveness dimension of parental feeding styles has been related to healthy maternal feeding practices. Assessing mothers' reports of responsiveness and demandingness in grocery stores may shed light on influences on purchases of sugars weetened beverages...

This study examines inter- and intrapersonal problems associated with being overweight among one thousand one hundred sixty-four 6- to 7-year-olds (49% boys) in 29 rural schools. Socioemotional data include child self-reports, peer sociometrics, and teacher reports. Results support the hypothesis that children with weight problems struggle socially...

To develop effective electronic messages for parents to encourage changes that will support middle school children’s healthy food and drink choices at home and school.

Results suggest that both parenting styles and perceived competence and acceptance are differentially related to bullying and social exclusion or their scale items based on children's weight status. • For example, for at-risk children, higher non-reasoning/punitive parenting is associated with higher bullying but for overweight/obese children, it i...

Previous research identified an association between child internalizing problems and maternal depression (Downey & Coyne, 1990), parenting style (Baumrind, 1989), and family functioning (Elgar et al., 2005). The present study examines whether parenting style predicts child anxiety and depression beyond maternal depression and to determine whether f...

To present longitudinal findings of a 1st grade curriculum designed to decrease children’s weight problems by improving social acceptance.

The objective of this study was to examine the associations between 2 types of emotion regulation (reactivity and inhibition) and 2 types of non-hunger-based eating (emotional eating and external eating). Although emotion regulation and eating regulation problems have both been linked to obesity in previous studies, there is little research examini...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the direct and interacting relations of parenting styles, feeding styles, and feeding practices to child overweight and obesity. Participants were 144 mothers and children under 6 years of age. Mothers completed questionnaires about parenting and feeding styles and feeding practices. Researchers weighed and...

More-complex models than those currently available are needed to guide research about childhood obesity. This article presents an Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Risk Model of Child Obesity, a transdisciplinary model of psychosocial risk factors that is based on work in developmental, family, and nutritional sciences. Two interpersonal realms of ch...

Several recent studies have supported relations between infant behaviour (alertness and responsiveness) and nutrition in addition to investigating infant behaviour within the context of changes in iron status over time. Existing research is typically limited to the investigation of the effects of a single vitamin or mineral, and no studies have bee...

Within the family and broader social context, how can parents best socialize their children in ways that balance freedom and control, promoting positive child development? As Diana Baumrind’s pioneering work on parenting styles approaches a fifth decade, the authors in this volume consolidate the conceptual and empirical legacy of authoritative par...

BACKGROUND: Rural children are at a particular high risk for obesity. Given the importance of exercise in obesity and chronic disease prevention, this study evaluated the level and relationship between physical activity and fitness in a sample of rural third graders. The second purpose of the study was to determine potential differences in physical...

The purpose of this study was to assess the nutritional status and cognitive performance of women and their 5-year-old children using a cross-sectional design. Cognitive performance of mothers and children was assessed with Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM) and Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children-II (KABC-II). Demographic characteristi...

The aim of the present study was to examine the relations of parenting style, parent response to negative child emotion, and family emotional expressiveness and support to child emotional eating. Mothers (N=450) completed questionnaires and their 6-8-year-old children (N=450) were interviewed. Results showed that emotional eating was negatively pre...

The purpose of the study was to test the moderating influence of two risk factors, maternal depression and socio-economic status (SES), on the association between authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and child obesity. Correlational, cross-sectional study. Parenting style was measured with the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire...

The research investigated the hypothesis that teachers’ ratings of kindergarten children’s receptive and expressive language ability would be related to children’s social competence. Teachers’ ratings of social competence were obtained for a sample of 116 kindergarten children. Social competence was measured using the California Preschool Social Co...

This study examined relations of blood lead < 10 microg/dL, iron, zinc, and parenting to Head Start children's (N = 112) scores on Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) and McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA). Venous whole blood and plasma samples were analyzed for lead and zinc by ICP-MS and iron status was assessed by serum tr...

The relation between zinc status and cognitive function was examined in a cross-sectional study in the Sidama area of Southern Ethiopia. Pregnant women >24 weeks of gestation from three adjacent rural villages volunteered to participate. Mean (s.d.) plasma zinc of 99 women was 6.97 (1.07) mumol/l (below the cutoff of 7.6 mumol/l indicative of zinc...

Our goal was to identify how parental feeding practices from the nutrition literature link to general parenting styles from the child development literature to understand how to target parenting practices to increase effectiveness of interventions. Stand-alone parental feeding practices could be targeted independently. However, parental feeding pra...

Speed of information processing and recognition memory can be assessed in infants using a visual information processing (VIP) paradigm. In a sample of 100 infants 6-8 months of age from Southern Ethiopia, we assessed relations between growth and VIP. The 69 infants who completed the VIP protocol had a mean weight z score of -1.12 ± 1.19 SD, and len...

The objective of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of lead, zinc, and iron levels in relation to child cognition and behavior in a small sample of Head Start children. The design was cross-sectional and correlational. Participants were 42 3- to 5-year-old children attending rural Head Start centers. Nonfasting blood samples of w...

We proposed a higher order latent construct of parenting young children, parenting quality. This higher-order latent construct comprises five component constructs: demographic protection, psychological distress, psychosocial maturity, moral and cognitive reflectivity, and parenting attitudes and beliefs. We evaluated this model with data provided b...

To evaluate relations among measures of iron and zinc status, C-reactive protein (CRP), and leukocytes in low-income children participating in the Head Start program. Cross-sectional correlational study with samples collected at Head Start centers in May 2003. Forty-seven children (aged 3 to 5 years) attending Head Start centers in three rural comm...

-Systematic research evaluating the separate and interacting impacts of neurotoxicants, micronutrients, and social environments on children's cognition and behavior has only recently been initiated. Years of extensive human epidemiologic and animal experimental research document the deleterious impact of lead and other metals on the nervous system....

The current study examined whether cumulative family risk would moderate the relation between regularity of attending Head Start and three child outcomes: receptive vocabulary, teacher ratings of social competence, and teacher ratings of following instructions. Cumulative family risk was the sum of four dichotomous measures: low income, low cogniti...

The current study examined how parental cognitive stimulation, emotional support, and intrusiveness measured during children's prekindergarten year were related to children's verbal and nonverbal abilities 1 year later. Participants were 110 Head Start children and their caregivers from primarily rural and low-income backgrounds. Analysis of childr...

While early childhood theorists emphasize the importance of the parent-child relationship to school performance, research findings on the relationship between parenting characteristics and child cognitive competence vary in their results. Differing results are found in samples of Head Start and non-Head Start families. One hundred fourteen Head Sta...

Underlying the responses of 34 44-month-old children of adolescent mothers to five attachment narratives were two factors--departure and reunion. The departure factor included disorganized and insecure responses to parents' departure as well as disorganized responses to narratives about children's misbehavior and fear. Scores predicted children's e...

en Two studies were conducted to determine the impact of infants' attachment classifications and behaviors on naive adults' impressions of their behavior and mental health. In Study 1, three groups of 44 adults viewed a videotape of episode 8 of the Strange Situation for either an avoidant, a resistant, or a secure male infant. After viewing the vi...

College students (N = 134) judged children in vignettes. Vignettes varied on child gender and family history lable (sexually abused, mother dying of cancer, normal). Perceiver bias was confirmed. Sexually abused children were expected to have more behavior problems than children whose mothers had terminal cancer. When acquaintance with victims of s...

Two hypotheses were tested in this study: (a) moral reasoning and risky sexual behaviors are inversely correlated; (b) the relationship between AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior is mediated by moral reasoning such that AIDS knowledge and risky sexual behaviors are inversely correlated for higher-level moral reasoners but not for lower-level reason...

The research literature on infant day-care and attachment may be biased by the unavailability of "file drawer" studies, unpublished data showing no statistically significant effects. Replication studies, whether showing an effect or not, are essential to clarify the relation between day-care and attachment. This study of 105 12-month-olds is an att...

The research literature on infant day-care and attachment may be biased by the unavailability of “file drawer” studies, unpublished data showing no statistically significant effects. Replication studies, whether showing an effect or not, are essential to clarify the relation between day-care and attachment. This study of 105 12-month-olds is an att...

This longitudinal investigation evaluated an additive model of the impact of adolescent mothers' parenting practices on their children. Infant-mother attachment predicted behavior problems among preschool children of adolescent mothers. Adolescent mothers' depression explained significant additional variance in those same behavior problems. Adolesc...

Two studies were conducted to determine the impact of infants' attachment classifications and behaviors on naive adults' impressions of their behavior and mental health. In Study 1, three groups of 44 adults viewed a videotape of episode 8 of the Strange Situation for either an avoidant, a resistant, or a secure male infant. After viewing the video...

Tested whether knowledge of a child's family history of sexual abuse influences adults' expectations for children and whether adults with acquaintance of sexual abuse stereotype children less negatively. The study assessed the reliability and factor structure of the Child History Expectations Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 279 female underg...

Self-esteem and coronary-prone behavior were identified as two personality constructs related to different stress responses. It was hypothesized that in the case of low self-esteem Type A subjects the conflicting stress responses would have a particularly adverse effect on problem-solving behavior, mood, and self-perception. Subjects were 32 Type A...

Eighteen securely attached and 19 anxiously attached mother-infant pairs were observed at 14 months in a nonstressful play situation. The securely attached group evidenced (a) more frequent infant-to-mother toy exchanges; (b) fewer maternal demonstrations of play; (c) more frequent positively toned maternal vocalizations; and (d) fewer nonpositivel...

Of Piaget's 16 operations of binary propositional logic, 5 concern exclusion. These 5 were classified into 2 operations of varying the independent variable, 2 of holding the independent variable constant, and tautology. The use of these 3 sets of operations and of levels of thought (concrete through formal) was assessed in 33 fifth graders, 27 sixt...

Of Piaget's 16 operations of binary propositional logic, 5 concern exclusion. These 5 were classified into 2 operations of varying the independent variable, 2 of holding the independent variable constant, and tautology. The use of these 3 sets of operations and of levels of thought (concrete through formal) was assessed in 33 fifth graders, 27 sixt...