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Impact of mothers' negative affectivity, parental locus of control and child-feeding practices on dietary patterns of 3-year-old children: The MoBa Cohort Study
Maternal & Child Nutrition
Abstract
The aims of the current study were to (1) identify dietary patterns in 3-year-old children; (2) investigate the extent to which negative affectivity, external parental locus of control and control-oriented child-feeding practices (pressure to eat and restriction) relate to these dietary patterns; and (3) to examine to what extent external parental locus of control and control-oriented child-feeding practices serve as mediators for these effects. This study was part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, comprising 14,122 mothers completing assessments at 6 months, 18 months and 3 years post-partum. Factor analysis of the children's diet identified two weakly correlated dietary patterns, labeled 'unhealthy' and 'wholesome'. Mothers high in negative affectivity perceived they had little control over their child's behaviour, which in turn was associated with both pressuring their child to eat and restricting the child's food intake and a less wholesome and a more unhealthy diet in the child. Pressuring the child to eat was independently associated with a less wholesome and a more unhealthy diet. Restricting the child's diet was associated with a more wholesome and a less unhealthy diet. These findings held after controlling for maternal smoking, education, age, body mass index, marital status, homemaker status and child gender.
... The study found that mothers who used more pressure to eat had children that followed a less wholesome and more unhealthy dietary pattern and that mothers' restrictive feeding practices were associated with children following a more wholesome and less unhealthy dietary pattern. (18) These findings were, however, ...
... (31) Another study evaluating the effect of restriction on dietary patterns also found that this coercive feeding practice was associated with a more wholesome and less unhealthy eating pattern at 3 years of age. (18) Our study suggests that practices such as restricting child's access to unhealthy foods (by ensuring that the child does not eat these foods and avoiding buying them), parental covert control and parental concern about child weight (both also included in the current Restriction subscale) at 4 years are inversely associated with the "Energydense foods" dietary pattern three years later, which was previously shown to be significantly associated with BMI z-score at 10 years old. (21) Previous evidence has shown that parents' concern about their child's overweight is associated with controlling feeding practices, such as restriction, and restricting the consumption energy-dense foods may be linked to a lower child's BMI. with the consumption of more healthy and less unhealthy foods in children. ...
... In terms of dietary patterns, according to a Norwegian cohort study, children of mothers that engage in pressure to eat were more likely to have a less wholesome and unhealthier diet, because of their aversion to the foods they are pressured to eat. (18) However, in girls, we found a negative association between Pressure to eat and the obesity-related dietary pattern (i.e., "Energy-dense foods"). ...
Background:
Parental child-feeding practices have been associated with child body mass index (BMI) and specific food group consumption, however, their role in the development of dietary patterns is less understood. We aim to study the association between parental child-feeding practices at 4 years old (y) and dietary patterns at 7y that explain BMI z-scores at age 10.
Methodology:
Participants were children from the Generation XXI birth cohort (n=3272). Three patterns of feeding practices at 4y were previously identified: "Perceived monitoring"; "Restriction" and "Pressure to eat". At 7y, two dietary patterns were derived: "Energy-dense foods", higher in energy-dense foods and drinks, and processed meats, and a lower consumption of vegetable soup (significantly associated with BMI z-scores at 10y) and "Fish-based", higher in fishery intake and lower in energy-dense foods intake. Associations were estimated by linear regression models, adjusted for potential confounders (mother's age, education, and pre-pregnancy BMI).
Results:
Girls whose parents used more Restriction, Perceived monitoring, and Pressure to eat at 4y were less likely to follow the "Energy-dense foods" dietary pattern at 7y (β̂=-0.082; 95%CI: -0.134; -0.029; β̂=-0.093; 95%CI: -0.146; -0.039; β̂=-0.079; 95%CI: -0.135; -0.04, respectively). In both sexes, children whose parents used more Restriction and Perceived monitoring at 4y were more likely to follow the "Fish-based" dietary pattern at 7y (Girls: β̂=0.143; 95%CI:0.077;0.210; β̂=0.079; 95%CI:0.011;0.148; Boys: β̂=0.157; 95%CI:0.090;0.224; β̂=0.104; 95%CI:0.041;0.168).
Conclusions:
Children whose parents used more Restriction and Perceived monitoring at pre-school age were more likely to follow healthier dietary patterns at age 7. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Depression can influence how mothers promote healthy environments and behaviors for their children (Benton et al., 2015). Despite the relatively large number of studies examining the relationship between maternal depression and physical activity/sedentary time (Benton et al., 2015), the relationship between maternal depressive symptomology and dietary consumption is less studied (Hurley et al., 2015;Marshall et al., 2018;Ystrom et al., 2012;McCurdy et al., 2019). ...
... The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between maternal symptomology and child dietary quality, both served and consumed, among Hispanic families with a child attending Head Start preschool. Considering prior literature (Marshall et al., 2018;Ystrom et al., 2012), we hypothesized a negative association between depressive symptomology and both dietary quality served and consumed. ...
... The somatic complaint subscale may have been associated with child dietary quality because it may be most representative of depressive symptomology among Hispanic populations. Mental health stigmatization is high among Hispanic populations, and Hispanics are unlikely to seek treatment for depression (Ystrom et al., 2012). Hispanics may be more comfortable communicating their depressive symptomology through somatic complaints than more overt communication about emotions expressed in items from the other subscales (e.g. ...
Dietary quality is important for children's growth and development. Poor dietary quality and maternal depression are prevalent among low-income, Hispanic families. Maternal depression likely influences child feeding before and during the meal. This secondary data analysis of an observational feeding study (2007-2008) examined how maternal depressive symptomology relates to dietary quality of dinner served to and consumed by Head Start preschoolers in Houston, TX (n = 82 mother-child dyads). A digital photography method assessed food served and consumed by the child at three separate dinner meals in families' homes. Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI) was calculated and averaged across the three meals to measure dietary quality (possible range 0-100). Maternal depression was assessed by the Centers for Epidemiologic Depression Scale (CES-D, possible range 0-60). A series of linear regression models were developed, regressing the total CES-D score and all four CES-D subscales onto both the dietary quality of the meal served and consumed. Dinners served had a HEI of 45.70 ± 9.19 and dinners consumed had a HEI of 44.65 ± 7.34. Clinically significant depressive symptomology (CES-D ≥ 16) was reported by 28% of mothers. Maternal depressive symptomology and the dietary quality served were not related. Controlling for dietary quality served, total CES-D and somatic complaints subscale scores were associated with lower dietary quality consumed (respectively, β = -0.16, p < 0.05 and β = -0.23, p < 0.01). Among low-income, Hispanic families, maternal depressive symptomology was predictive of the dietary quality consumed, but not served. Together, these findings reinforce the importance of parent feeding behaviors and emotional climates during dinner.
... In addition to feeding and parenting styles, parents' mental health symptoms may predict emotional eating in children. Most research has focused on maternal internalizing disorders predicting emotional eating in young children (Haycraft & Blissett, 2008;Haycraft & Blissett, 2012;McPhie, Skouteris, Daniels, Jansen, 2014;Ystrom, Barker, & Vollrath, 2012). For example, mothers of 2-year-olds who experienced greater depression, anxiety, and stress were more likely to engage in emotional eating, use emotional feeding techniques with their children, and have children who engaged in emotional eating (Rodgers et al., 2014). ...
... For example, mothers of 2-year-olds who experienced greater depression, anxiety, and stress were more likely to engage in emotional eating, use emotional feeding techniques with their children, and have children who engaged in emotional eating (Rodgers et al., 2014). Other research suggested that mothers with more internalizing symptoms were more likely to pressure their children to eat, which undermined children's natural hunger cues and taught emotional eating as a coping mechanism (Ystrom et al., 2012). Little research has examined the role of maternal internalizing symptoms on adolescent emotional eating. ...
... Most of the research on maternal internalizing psychopathology and child emotional eating has focused on maternal feeding practices with young children (Haycraft & Blissett, 2008;Haycraft & Blissett, 2012;Ystrom et al., 2012). This is one of the first studies to examine the relationship between maternal internalizing symptoms and early adolescent emotional eating. ...
Objective
To examine maternal and child internalizing symptoms as predictors of early adolescent emotional eating in a longitudinal framework spanning three critical developmental periods (preschool, elementary school, and early adolescence).
Methods
Participants were 170 children recruited at preschool age for a longitudinal study. When children were 5.25 years, their mothers completed ratings of their own internalizing symptoms. During the spring of 4th grade, children completed measures of internalizing symptoms. In early adolescence, youth completed a measure of emotional eating.
Results
Maternal and child internalizing symptoms predicted adolescent emotional eating. The results indicated that child psychopathology moderated the association between maternal psychopathology (except for maternal anxiety) and early adolescent emotional eating. There was no evidence of mediation.
Conclusions
Pediatric psychologists are encouraged to provide early screening of, and interventions for, maternal and child internalizing symptoms to prevent children’s emotional eating.
... One such study has shown a direct association between mother's level of food involvement and child's quality of diet, demonstrating that mothers with lower levels of food involvement have children who consume fewer fruits and vegetables (21) . Another study reported that mothers with higher levels of negative affect (lower well-being) tended to feed their children a diet higher in low-micronutrient, energy-dense foods such as chips, cakes and sugar-sweetened soft drinks (22) . ...
... Mothers in different clusters were also likely to manage their child's mealtime environment differently, which in turn was associated with children's diet quality. Our findings are consistent with those of other studies (22,33) . Those which have considered individual psychological factors have suggested that people with lower levels of well-being may be more likely to give up trying new behaviours if faced with conflict (33) . ...
... Therefore it is possible that mothers in the less resilient cluster felt less able to control their child's mealtime environment if, in the past, this has resulted in conflict with their children. Another study found that mothers who had higher levels of negative affect (low well-being) described feeling unable to control their children's diet (22) . ...
To test the hypothesis that maternal psychological profiles relate to children's quality of diet.
Cross-sectional study. Mothers provided information on their health-related psychological factors and aspects of their child's mealtime environment. Children's diet quality was assessed using an FFQ from which weekly intakes of foods and a diet Z-score were calculated. A high score described children with a better quality diet. Cluster analysis was performed to assess grouping of mothers based on psychological factors. Mealtime characteristics, describing how often children ate while sitting at a table or in front of the television, their frequency of takeaway food consumption, maternal covert control and food security, and children's quality of diet were examined, according to mothers' cluster membership.
Mother-child pairs (n 324) in the Southampton Initiative for Health. Children were aged 2-5 years.
Hampshire, UK.
Two main clusters were identified. Mothers in cluster 1 had significantly higher scores for all psychological factors than mothers in cluster 2 (all P<0·001). Clusters were termed 'more resilient' and 'less resilient', respectively. Children of mothers in the less resilient cluster ate meals sitting at a table less often (P=0·03) and watched more television (P=0·01). These children had significantly poorer-quality diets (β=-0·61, 95 % CI -0·82, -0·40, P≤0·001). This association was attenuated, but remained significant after controlling for confounding factors that included maternal education and home/mealtime characteristics (P=0·006).
The study suggests that mothers should be offered psychological support as part of interventions to improve children's quality of diet.
... Similar to findings within the child development literature showing low rates of responsivity among mothers with depressive symptoms (14), maternal mental health symptomatology is associated with reports of nonresponsive feeding behaviors (15,16). Support also exists for associations between nonresponsive feeding behaviors and perceptions of child fussiness (15)(16)(17) and poor child dietary intake as well as overweight/ obesity (5)(6)(7)18 (7). The CFQ assesses parental perceptions and behaviors around child feeding; the CFSQ assesses authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent, and uninvolved feeding styles (10); and the TFQ assesses environmental food influences and authoritative and indulgent feeding (7). ...
... In phase 3, within the TOPS sample we evaluated convergent validity by examining the associations among the 5 feeding dimensions and constructs that had been associated with the feeding dimensions (i.e., maternal-reported mental health symptomatology, maternal perceptions of toddler fussiness, and toddler overweight) (5)(6)(7)(15)(16)(17)34). Mean and sample-specific weighted (produced via CFAs) feeding factor scores were calculated. ...
... Although factorial validity initially endorsed the presence of the 5 underlying dimensions of feeding within the TBFQ, the test of convergent validity further validated it by confirming established relations between feeding and maternal mental health, perceived toddler fussiness, and toddler overweight status (5)(6)(7)(15)(16)(17)(18)34). These relations remained when examining the associations using weighted (sample-specific) or nonweighted mean feeding factor scores, suggesting that the tool can be applied to other diverse samples of low-income mothers of toddlers. ...
This paper describes the development and validation of a 27-item caregiver-reported questionnaire on toddler feeding. The development of the Toddler Feeding Behavior Questionnaire was based on a theory of interactive feeding that incorporates caregivers' responses to concerns about their children's dietary intake, appetite, size, and behaviors rather than relying exclusively on caregiver actions. Content validity included review by an expert panel (n = 7) and testing in a pilot sample (n = 105) of low-income mothers of toddlers. Construct validity and reliability were assessed among a second sample of low-income mothers of predominately African-American (70%) toddlers aged 12-32 mo (n = 297) participating in the baseline evaluation of a toddler overweight prevention study. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α: 0.64-0.87) and test-retest (0.57-0.88) reliability were acceptable for most constructs. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed 5 theoretically derived constructs of feeding: responsive, forceful/pressuring, restrictive, indulgent, and uninvolved (root mean square error of approximation = 0.047, comparative fit index = 0.90, standardized root mean square residual = 0.06). Statistically significant (P < 0.05) convergent validity results further validated the scale, confirming established relations between feeding behaviors, toddler overweight status, perceived toddler fussiness, and maternal mental health. The Toddler Feeding Behavior Questionnaire adds to the field by providing a brief instrument that can be administered in 5 min to examine how caregiver-reported feeding behaviors relate to toddler health and behavior.
... Seventeen studies were included in the review of the association between maternal parenting, personal characteristics or psychopathology, and maternal child feeding practices (Francis et al. 2001;Anderson et al. 2005;Hughes et al. 2005Hughes et al. , 2008Blissett et al. 2006;Blissett & Haycraft 2008Haycraft & Blissett 2008aDe Lauzon-Guillain et al. 2009;Jingxiong et al. 2009;Musher-Eizenman et al. 2009;Ventura et al. 2010;Vereecken et al. 2010;Evans et al. 2011;McPhie et al. 2011;Ystrom et al. 2012). Five of the studies are summarised in more than one table (Francis et al. 2001;Blissett et al. 2006;Blissett & Haycraft 2008;Hughes et al. 2008;De Lauzon-Guillain et al. 2009). ...
... The majority of the studies included children over age 3 years (n = 14), while only three studies (Jingxiong et al. 2009;Evans et al. 2011;Ystrom et al. 2012) included children <3 years. Tables 1-3 summarise the aim, sample characteristics, measures and findings for each of these 17 studies, and hence will not be repeated in the subsections later. ...
... Tables 1-3 summarise the aim, sample characteristics, measures and findings for each of these 17 studies, and hence will not be repeated in the subsections later. The most frequently used measures for maternal child feeding practices were the subscales of the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) by Birch et al. (2001) (n = 8) (Francis et al. 2001;Anderson et al. 2005;Blissett et al. 2006;Blissett & Haycraft 2008;Haycraft & Blissett 2008aMcPhie et al. 2011;Ystrom et al. 2012). Five other measures were used to assess maternal child feeding practices: the Caregiver's Feeding Styles Questionnaire (CFSQ) by Hughes et al. (2005) (Hughes et al. 2008;Vereecken et al. 2010 (Ventura et al. 2010); the Preschooler Feeding Questionnaire (PFQ; Baughcum et al. 2001;Evans et al. 2011), and the Family Mealtime Coding System (FMCS) by Haycraft and Blissett (2008b) ). ...
Establishing healthy eating habits early in life is one important strategy to combat childhood obesity. Given that early maternal child feeding practices have been linked to child food intake and weight, identifying the maternal correlates of maternal child feeding practices is important in order to understand the determinants of childhood obesity; this was the overall aim of the current review. Academic databases were searched for studies examining the relationship between maternal child feeding practices and parenting, personal characteristics and psychopathology of mothers with preschoolers. Papers were limited to those published in English, between January 2000 and June 2012. Only studies with mothers of normally developing children between the ages of 2 and 6 years were included. There were no restrictions regarding the inclusion of maternal nationality or socioeconomic status (SES). Seventeen eligible studies were sourced. Information on the aim, sample, measures and findings of these was summarised into tables. The findings of this review support a relationship between maternal controlling parenting, general and eating psychopathology, and SES and maternal child feeding practices. The main methodological issues of the studies reviewed included inconsistency in measures of maternal variables across studies and cross-sectional designs. We conclude that the maternal correlates associated with maternal child feeding practices are complex, and the pathways by which maternal correlates impact these feeding practices require further investigation.
... Maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression have in previous research been associated with a lower extent of breast feeding [46], a less wholesome and a more unhealthy child diet [62], and increased use of control and pressure to eat [46,[63][64][65]. We found that maternal mental health symptoms of depression and anxiety in early infancy was associated with maternal feeding style and practices up to child age two years. ...
... The relationship between maternal psychopathology and maternal feeding styles and practices have previously been assessed in several studies [62,63,[68][69][70] and systematic reviews [71,72]. Our results are in concordance with this research, suggesting that maternal mental health issues may interfere with the ability to promote a healthier feeding environment with positive social interactions. ...
Facilitating positive feeding practices from infancy may be an important strategy to prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Since the feeding situation early in life constitutes a bidirectional relationship, it is important to understand the impact of both maternal and infant characteristics on maternal feeding practices to intervene in a customized and tailored way. Few studies have concurrently examined associations between maternal and infant characteristics in relation to early maternal feeding practices. The aim of the present study was to explore potential associations between infant and maternal characteristics measured at child age five months, and maternal feeding styles and practices during the child’s first two years. Cross-sectional data from a Norwegian randomized controlled trial in which participants responded to questionnaires at child age 5 months (n = 474), 12 months (n = 293) and 24 months (n = 185) were used to explore potential associations. All maternal and child predictor variables were collected at child age five months. Maternal feeding styles and practices were mapped using subscales from the Infant Feeding Questionnaire at child age 5 and 12 months and the Child Feeding Questionnaire and the Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire at child age 24 months. The subscale-scores were split into roughly equal tertiles, and the upper or lower tertile for the outcome of interest were used to create binary outcome variables. Multivariable binary logistic regression models were conducted for each outcome. We found that maternal education and mental health symptoms as well as infant weight, temperament and feeding mode were associated with maternal feeding styles and practices over time. Our findings indicate that risk factors which may have long-term implications for child weight and health outcomes can be identified early. Larger, population-based studies with a longitudinal design are needed to further explore these pathways.
... Maternal anxiety has been associated with forceful feeding practices at 12 months of age (Farrow & Blissett, 2005;Hurley, Black, Papas, & Caulfield, 2008). However, to date, studies of maternal anxiety and toddler diet have been primarily cross-sectional and results have been mixed, showing no association with diet quality among 7-12 months old infants (Hurley, Black, Merry, & Caulfield, 2015) but a positive correlation with unhealthful dietary patterns among 18-month-old children (Ystrom, Barker, & Vollrath, 2012). ...
... Our study demonstrated that higher maternal anxiety scores were associated with poor toddler diet quality, and this association remained constant over time. Among the few longitudinal studies that have investigated this association, a Norwegian cohort found that mothers with high depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem were more likely to have a young child (18 months through 3 years of age) eating less wholesome and more unhealthy diets (Ystrom, Niegel, & Vollrath, 2009), an association that was partially mediated by nonresponsive feeding practices, such as restriction or pressure to eat (Ystrom et al., 2012). Public health and primary care initiatives should be designed to help parents understand typical developmental transitions in toddlerhood, especially those associated with mealtime events in order to avoid negative parenting behaviours associated with anxiety and children's eating patterns. ...
We evaluated the association between maternal anxiety score and diet quality over time among mothers and toddlers in low‐income families. Longitudinal data were collected from 267 mother–toddler dyads in an obesity prevention trial. Participants were recruited from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and paediatric clinics between 2007 and 2010. Dyads were assessed at study enrolment (Time 1), 6‐month (Time 2), and 12‐month follow‐up (Time 3). On the basis of a 1‐day 24‐hr dietary recall, we estimated maternal and toddler diet quality using the Healthy Eating Index 2015. Anxiety, a time‐varying variable, was assessed via the State–Trait Anxiety Inventory. Associations between maternal anxiety score and maternal and toddler diet quality over time were assessed in adjusted mixed models. Maternal and toddler diet quality were positively correlated (r = .48, p < .001). Higher maternal anxiety scores were related to lower toddler Healthy Eating Index scores (b = −0.51, 95% confidence interval, CI [−0.87, −0.15]) with no significant variation over time. The relation between maternal diet quality and anxiety score varied over time (b = 0.28, p = .03, for time–anxiety interaction). Higher maternal anxiety scores were associated with lower maternal diet quality at Time 1 (b = −0.71, 95% CI [−1.09, 0.34]) and at Time 2 (b = −0.51, 95% CI [−0.97, −0.05]), but not at Time 3 (b = −0.14, 95% CI [−0.54, 0.26]). Findings suggest that mothers and toddlers exhibited similar low‐quality dietary patterns and that lower diet quality was associated with higher maternal anxiety scores. Approaches to enhance diet quality may consider incorporating anxiety‐reducing strategies into maternal and toddler care and feeding behaviour guidelines.
... In Norway, as in other countries, unhealthy dietary patterns characterized by low intake of fruits and vegetables and high intake of non-core foods and beverages, are observed among toddlers [7][8][9][10][11]. In addition, at 12 months of age, about 80% of Norwegian children eat commercial baby food, with the main food intake for more than 15% of children aged 24 months still coming from jarred foods [12,13]. ...
... This is in line with respondents in other family-based interventions [59,60]. The mother remains the main influence on the child's diet [10] and can more easily engage in traditional non-technological interventions. Nevertheless, we had hoped that fathers would be engaged in this project as it uses an eHealth approach. ...
Background
Eating habits are established during childhood and track into adolescence and later in life. Given that these habits have a large public health impact and influence the increasing rates of childhood obesity worldwide, there is a need for effective, evidence-based prevention trials promoting healthy eating habits in the first 2 years of life.
The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the effect of an eHealth intervention called Food4toddlers, aiming to promote healthy dietary habits in toddlers by targeting parents’ awareness of their child’s food environment (i.e., how food is provided or presented) and eating environment (e.g., feeding practices and social interaction). This paper describes the rationale, development, and evaluation design of this project.
Methods/design
We developed a 6-month eHealth intervention, with the extensive user involvement of health care nurses and parents of toddlers. This intervention is in line with the social cognitive theory, targeting the interwoven relationship between the person, behavior, and environment, with an emphasis on environmental factors. The intervention website includes recipes, information, activities, and collaboration opportunities. The Food4toddlers website can be used as a mobile application. To evaluate the intervention, a two-armed pre–post-follow-up randomized controlled trial is presently being conducted in Norway. Parents of toddlers (n = 404) were recruited via social media (Facebook) and 298 provided baseline data of their toddlers at age 12 months. After baseline measurements, participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group or control group. Primary outcomes are the child’s diet quality and food variety. All participants will be followed up at age 18 months, 2 years, and 4 years.
Discussion
The results of this trial will provide evidence to increase knowledge about the effectiveness of an eHealth intervention targeting parents and their toddler’s dietary habits.
Trial registration
ISRCTN92980420. Registered 13 September 2017. Retrospectively registered.
... Results of a systematic review including 14 publications utilizing PCA in 1-8 year old native children in mainly European countries [15] showed that most studies identified between two and six dietary patterns, with the majority of studies identifying a healthy, unhealthy/processed/snacking, and local/traditional pattern [5,15,22,38]. Among the cohorts that evaluated the diets of children aged 3-5 years, a healthy and unhealthy pattern were most often identified [15,17,21,[38][39][40][41][42] with similar dietary patterns as the healthy and snacking pattern, which were observed in the present analysis. Our full-fat pattern shows similarities with the varied traditional Norwegian pattern, found by Oellingrath in 9-10 year old Norwegian children, which was characterized by high component loadings on full-fat cheese and full-fat spreads [5], food groups that also characterized the full-fat pattern in this study. ...
... Several studies have observed SES differences in dietary patterns in children [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] with maternal education being the most important variables [18,21]. In four large prospective birth cohorts (ALSPAC, the EDEN motherchild cohort, the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study and the Southampton Women's Cohort Survey) healthier dietary patterns in young children (1-7y) were associated with higher maternal education [17,19,21,23,39]. We did not find significantly different healthy pattern scores between SES groups however low SES children had higher healthy pattern scores than middle and high SES groups. ...
... Results of a systematic review including 14 publications utilizing PCA in 1-8 year old native children in mainly European countries [15] showed that most studies identified between two and six dietary patterns, with the majority of studies identifying a healthy, unhealthy/processed/snacking, and local/traditional pattern [5,15,22,38]. Among the cohorts that evaluated the diets of children aged 3-5 years, a healthy and unhealthy pattern were most often identified [15,17,21,[38][39][40][41][42] with similar dietary patterns as the healthy and snacking pattern, which were observed in the present analysis. Our full-fat pattern shows similarities with the varied traditional Norwegian pattern, found by Oellingrath in 9-10 year old Norwegian children, which was characterized by high component loadings on full-fat cheese and full-fat spreads [5], food groups that also characterized the full-fat pattern in this study. ...
... Several studies have observed SES differences in dietary patterns in children [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] with maternal education being the most important variables [18,21]. In four large prospective birth cohorts (ALSPAC, the EDEN motherchild cohort, the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study and the Southampton Women's Cohort Survey) healthier dietary patterns in young children (1-7y) were associated with higher maternal education [17,19,21,23,39]. We did not find significantly different healthy pattern scores between SES groups however low SES children had higher healthy pattern scores than middle and high SES groups. ...
Abstract Background Health inequalities are already present at young age and tend to vary with ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Diet is a major determinant of overweight, and studying dietary patterns as a whole in relation to overweight rather than single nutrients or foods has been suggested. We derived dietary patterns at age 5 and determined whether ethnicity and SES were both related to these dietary patterns. Methods We analysed 2769 validated Food Frequency Questionnaires filled in by mothers of children (5.7 ± 0.5y) in the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) cohort. Food items were reduced to 41 food groups. Energy adjusted intake per food group (g/d) was used to derive dietary patterns using Principal Component Analysis and children were given a pattern score for each dietary pattern. We defined 5 ethnic groups (Dutch, Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan, other ethnicities) and 3 SES groups (low, middle, high, based on maternal education). Multivariate ANOVA, with adjustment for age, gender and maternal age, was used to test potential associations between ethnicity or SES and dietary pattern scores. Post-hoc analyses with Bonferroni adjustment were used to examine differences between groups. Results Principal Component Analysis identified 4 dietary patterns: a snacking, full-fat, meat and healthy dietary pattern, explaining 21% of the variation in dietary intake. Ethnicity was related to the dietary pattern scores (p
... Moderate, but consistent evidence exists for a negative association between restriction of food and rebound overeating, with subsequent high child Body Mass Index (BMI) [5][6][7]. Pressuring a child to eat has been reported to have an inverse impact on dietary intake, and has been linked to reduced food consumption and fussy eating behaviours [7][8][9][10][11]. In another study, such pressuring behaviours predicted higher fruit and vegetable intake by children [12], suggesting that the same behaviours may result in either positive or negative child dietary intake outcomes depending on the food type. ...
... Child feeding outcome measures used in this study were perceived responsibility (RESP), monitoring (MON), restriction (REST) and pressure to eat (PTE). Based on existing literature responsibility [13,14] and monitoring [6,[13][14][15] were positively weighted, with pressure to eat [7][8][9][10][11] and restriction [18] negatively weighted by adding one to maximum scores, and then subtracting the domain score. For example, a PTE score of 4 would have become (6 − 4) = 2. ...
Child feeding practices and parenting style each have an impact on child dietary intake, but it is unclear whether they influence each other or are amenable to change. The aims of this study were to measure child feeding and parenting styles in the Feeding Healthy Food to Kids (FHFK) Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) and test a composite child feeding score and a composite parenting style score. Child feeding and parenting style data from 146 parent-child dyads (76 boys, aged 2.0–5.9 years) in the FHFK study were collected over a 12-month intervention. Parenting style was measured using parenting questions from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children and the Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) was used to measure child feeding practices. Data for both measures were collected at baseline, 3 and 12 months and then modelled to develop a composite child feeding score and a parenting score. Multivariate mixed effects linear regression was used to measure associations between variables over time. All child feeding domains from the CFQ were consistent between baseline and 12 months (p < 0.001), except for monitoring (0.12, p = 0.44). All parenting style domain scores were consistent over 12 months (p < 0.001), except for overprotection (0.22, p = 0.16). A significant correlation (r = 0.42, p < 0.0001) existed between child feeding score and parenting style score within the FHFK RCT. In conclusion, composite scores have potential applications in the analysis of relationships between child feeding and dietary or anthropometric data in intervention studies aimed at improving child feeding or parenting style. These applications have the potential to make a substantial contribution to the understanding of child feeding practices and parenting style, in relation to each other and to dietary intake and health outcomes amongst pre-school aged children.
... The common factor had a variance of unity and mean of 0. We used these data to replicate 2 dietary patterns previously identified in MoBa with factor scores from factor analysis for ordinal data. 30,31 The factor loadings were 0.70 for the unhealthy and 0.73 for the "healthy" dietary pattern. The "unhealthy" factor described a pattern of eating characterized by consumption of chips, buns, cakes, waffles, chocolate, cookies, sweets, soda, ice cream, popsicles, bread with jam or honey, pizza, and soda with artificial sweeteners. ...
... To assess possible confounding, we included the following variables in our analyses chosen a priori on theoretical grounds: sex of the child; maternal and paternal age; parity and length of gestation; maternal educational attainment; household income; maternal smoking before and during pregnancy; mothers' parental locus of control (at 3 years) 31 ; stay-at-home mother (1.5 and 3 years); and marital status (1.5 and 3 years). We also adjusted for maternal depressive symptoms at week 30 of pregnancy, and 1.5 and 3 years postpartum using data from a short version of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-8). ...
Diet quality is related to the risk for depression and anxiety in adults and adolescents; however, the possible impact of maternal and early postnatal nutritional exposures on children's subsequent mental health is unexplored.
The large prospective Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study recruited pregnant women between 1999 and 2008. Data were collected from mothers during pregnancy and when children were 6 months and 1.5, 3, and 5 years of age. Latent growth curve models were used to model linear development in children's internalizing and externalizing problems from 1.5 to 5 years of age as a function of diet quality during pregnancy and at 1.5 and 3 years. Diet quality was evaluated by dietary pattern extraction and characterized as "healthy" or "unhealthy." The sample comprised 23,020 eligible women and their children. Adjustments were made for variables including sex of the child, maternal depression, maternal and paternal age, maternal educational attainment, household income, maternal smoking before and during pregnancy, mothers' parental locus of control, and marital status.
Higher intakes of unhealthy foods during pregnancy predicted externalizing problems among children, independently of other potential confounding factors and childhood diet. Children with a high level of unhealthy diet postnatally had higher levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems. Moreover, children with a low level of postnatal healthy diet also had higher levels of both internalizing and externalizing problems.
Among this large cohort of mothers and children, early nutritional exposures were independently related to the risk for behavioral and emotional problems in children.
... The current findings extend the sparse evidence that maternal mental health affects dietary intakes in early childhood (Ystrom et al. 2012). To date, most studies examining the relations between maternal mental health and infant nutritional status have been cross-sectional and conducted in low-and middleincome countries, with a finding that maternal depression is related to undernutrition (Surkan et al. 2011;Hurley et al. 2012). ...
... A few studies have linked maternal mental health symptoms to 'unhealthy' child dietary patterns (e.g. consumption of sugary foods of low nutritional value) (Ystrom et al. 2012) and with overweight/obesity (Surkan et al. 2008;Ertel et al. 2010). Thus, additional research is needed to better understand the relations between maternal mental health symptoms and infants' nutritional status. ...
The study's objective was to examine the relation between maternal mental health and infant dietary intake. A cross-sectional, population-based telephone survey was employed within a statewide sample of Maryland Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children participants. A 24-h diet recall was performed using the United States Department of Agriculture Automated Multiple-Pass Method. Analyses presented were based on 689 mother-infant pairs. Overall, 36.5% of mothers reported introducing solids to their infants early (<4 months of age), and 40% reported adding cereal to their infant's bottle. Among 0-6-month-old infants, higher infant energy intake was associated with symptoms of maternal stress [β = 0.02; confidence interval (CI): 0.01, 0.04], depression (β = 0.04; CI: 0.01, 0.06) and overall maternal psychological distress (β = 0.02; CI: 0.003, 0.03). With early introduction of solids in the model, the significant associations between infant energy intake and maternal stress and maternal psychological distress became marginal (P's = 0.06-0.10). The association between infant energy intake and maternal depression remained significant (β = 0.03; CI: 0.01, 0.06). Among 4-6-month-old infants, intakes of breads and cereals were higher among mothers who reported more symptoms of stress (β = 0.12; CI: 0.04, 0.23), depression (β = 0.19; CI: 0.03, 0.34), anxiety (β = 0.15; CI: 0.02, 0.27) and overall psychological distress (β = 0.04; CI: 0.01, 0.07). Among 7-12-month-old infants, dietary intake was not related to mental health symptoms. Findings suggest poorer infant feeding practices and higher infant dietary intake during the first 6 months of age in the context of maternal mental health symptoms. Further research is needed to evaluate these effects on child dietary habits and growth patterns over time.
... Future research should test the CFPQ in more heterogeneous samples, as previous research has shown, for example, differences between mothers and fathers in the endorsement of feeding practices, with fathers reporting the use of more non-responsive feeding practices compared to mothers [67,68]. Similarly, parents with higher education levels are less likely to use non-responsive feeding practices [69][70][71]. Second, data are cross-sectional, limiting our ability to examine the stability of factor scores across time. ...
Recent findings have demonstrated an increase in the prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight in Portugal, urging the need to study modifiable risk factors such as parental feeding practices. The Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ) is an important self-report measure assessing a broad range of responsive and non-responsive feeding practices. However, the CFPQ has not yet been validated in Portugal. Therefore, the present study aimed to test the validity of this measure with Portuguese parents of 2-to-8-year-old children. A sample of 409 parents completed a Portuguese-adapted version of the CFPQ and the already validated Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and psychometric analysis were conducted. CFA demonstrated the original 12-factor structure did not fit the sample. EFA identified an eight-factor structure comprising 29 items: Monitoring, Modeling, Environment, Involvement, Emotion Regulation, Restriction for Weight Control, Restriction for Health, and Pressure. Findings suggest that parental feeding practices are sensitive to parents’ background cultures and children’s developmental period.
... From previous research we know that maternal mental health may impact different aspects of the child's diet and eating behaviors. Maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression has been associated with a lower extent of breastfeeding (Ystrom et al., 2008) and a less wholesome and a more unhealthy child diet (Ashaba et al., 2015;Ystrom et al., 2012). ...
Diet during the child's first years is important for growth and development. In toddlerhood, higher diet quality is reported among children eating meals together with family. Although previous literature has documented several associations between maternal mental health and early child feeding practices, less is known about the relationship between maternal mental health and child frequency of shared family meals. This study explores associations between maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression, measured by The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (SCL-8), and toddler participation in family meals. We used cross-sectional data from the Norwegian study Early Food for Future Health, in which participants responded to questionnaires at child age 12 (n = 455) and 24 months (n = 295). Logistic regression was used to explore associations between maternal mental health and child having regular (≥5 per week) or irregular (<5 per week) family meals (breakfast and dinner), adjusting for relevant child and maternal confounding variables. Children of mothers with higher scores of anxiety and depression had higher odds of Irregular family meals at both timepoints; (OR: 2.067, p = 0.015) and (OR: 2.444, p = 0.023). This is one of few studies exploring associations between maternal mental health and child frequency of shared family meals in early childhood, a period where the foundation for life-long health is shaped. Given the high prevalence of mental ailments and disorders, these findings are important and may inform future public health interventions. Further exploration of this relation is needed, including longitudinal research to test predictive associations and qualitative studies to increase insight and understanding.
... 18,19,20 Most of the parents in the current research were female and were homemakers. A similar result was also discovered by Ystrom et al. 21 , which might be caused by the more spare time of homemakers to participate in this research. The respondent's income level distribution showed that most parents have an income level above the regional minimum wages, which included 51 respondents, and the most expenses level was recorded as equal to their income (79 respondents). ...
Introduction: Motivation and the role of parents are essential in educating children on maintaining their oral health. The low parental knowledge in seeking oral health treatment will increase the prevalence of children’s oral disease. This study aimed to analyse the differences in the motivation for seeking oral health treatment among parents of kindergarten students in two kindergarten. Methods: The research was analytic with a cross-sectional technique, conducted on 109 parents taken as respondents, consisting of 54 parents of Bunda Asuh Nanda Kindergarten students and 55 parents of Mekar Arum Kindergarten students. Data collection was carried out with an online Google form questionnaire. Results: The mean intrinsic motivation range of Bunda Asuh Nanda Kindergarten and Mekar Arum Kindergarten parents was 45 to 65, while the extrinsic motivation range was 51 to 59, and the combined motivation range was 47 to 63. The Mann-Whitney test result showed a significant difference in the intrinsic and combined motivation, with a p-value of 0.0008 and 0.0073, respectively, while the extrinsic motivation showed no difference (p-value=0.2313). Conclusions: The motivation for seeking oral health treatment in parents of kindergarten students showed differences in intrinsic and combined motivation, while no difference is found in extrinsic motivation. Most of the parents in both kindergartens have rather good motivation in seeking oral health treatment for their children.
Keywords: children; oral health; motivation; parents; treatment-seeking behaviour
... All of the other studies that we reviewed were, without exception, conducted in the United States (K. D. Becker et al., 2010;Berkovits et al., 2010;Freed & Tompson, 2011;Hoza et al., 2000;Jouriles et al., 2010;Moreland et al., 2016;Piehler et al., 2018) or in Western Europe (Doyle et al., 2017;Hagekull et al., 2001;Kokkinos & Panayiotou, 2007;Ystrom et al., 2012). Further, most earlier J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f Journal Pre-proof studies had sample sizes of fewer than 200 participants. ...
This study investigates the relationship between caregivers' internal or external parental locus of control (PLOC) orientation and child development outcomes. We surveyed 995 children under age 3 and their primary caregivers in a rural study site in Western China. The empirical results show that a more internal PLOC orientation is reflected in higher levels of intergenerational investment in a stimulating home environment and improved child development outcomes. Grandparent caregivers have, on average, a more external PLOC orientation than do parent caregivers, which is associated with reduced engagement in interactive caregiver-child activities. This study provides evidence that PLOC orientation plays an important role in intergenerational human capital investment and early child development in non-Western, low-to-middle income settings.
... This contradicts findings from another study where no association between parental use of restriction for weight and child SSB consumption was found (32). Some researchers point out that restrictions may be beneficial for children's healthy diets at an early age (37)(38)(39). However, when the child is older, restriction of food may increase the preference for and consumption of that specific food (40,41). ...
Background:
Parental feeding practices may be important determinants for children's diets. In Norway, few studies have assessed this association and to our knowledge, no studies have included fish as an outcome.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to explore the association between multiple parental feeding practices and children's food intake.
Design:
Parents (n = 111) of preschool children aged 1-5 years in the Gardermoen Region in Norway were recruited. The parents completed a web-based questionnaire regarding the use of 12 feeding practices measured by the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ). Children's weekly food intake was measured using a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). The association between parental feeding practices and food intake was assessed by logistic regression.
Results:
The feeding practices involvement and environment increased the likelihood of children having a higher intake of fruit and berries (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.15, 3.44 and OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.17, 3.78, respectively) when controlling for potential confounders. A positive association was found between the feeding practice environment and the children's intake of vegetables (OR = 2.94, CI = 1.55, 5.55), and between modeling and intake of vegetables (OR = 2.14, CI = 1.26, 3.63). Also, the feeding practice encourage balance and variety increased the likelihood of a higher consumption of vegetables (OR = 5.18, CI = 1.63, 16.5). Parents who more frequently encouraged the child to eat balanced and varied were more likely to have children with a higher consumption of fish (OR = 5.03, CI = 1.62, 15.7). If parents used more restriction for weight, the child was less likely to have a high SSB consumption (OR = 0.43, CI = 0.22, 0.83).
Conclusion:
Findings suggest that children's intake of the favorite food item groups, fruit and berries, vegetables and fish, was associated with the use of positive feeding practices, such as involvement, environment, modeling and encouragement. For unfavorable food groups, only restriction for weight was negatively associated with SSB consumption. Findings should be interpreted carefully due to the relatively small sample size.
... Neuroticism is a personality trait characterized by emotional instability, stress vulnerability, the tendency to experience intense negative emotions and cognitions, and impulsive behaviors under emotional strain (Pervin & John, 1999). Parents' neuroticism has consistently been linked with negative parental practices (e.g., low interpersonal warmth, inconsistency in strictness, and negative beliefs in ability to regulate the child) (Prinzie et al., 2009;Ystrom et al., 2012) and low spousal relationship satisfaction (Botwin et al., 1997), that in turn could be linked with emotional problems in children. Other negative outcomes observed among offspring of parents high on neuroticism, include poor social functioning, ineffective coping skills, lower educational attainment, and behavioral problems (Ellenbogen et al., 2010). ...
Background:
Children of parents with high levels of neuroticism tend to have high neuroticism themselves as well as increased risk of experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. It is not yet clear how much of this link is attributable to a potential effect of parent on child (e.g., via a socializing effect) versus to shared genetic risk. We aimed to determine whether there is an intergenerational association after accounting for genetic transmission and assortative mating.
Methods:
We used data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study including 11,088 sibling pairs in the parental generation, their partners (N = 22,176) and their offspring (N = 26,091). Exposures were maternal and paternal neuroticism (self-reported), and the outcomes were neuroticism, symptoms of depression, and symptoms of anxiety in 8-year-old children (mother-reported).
Results:
After accounting for assortative mating in parents (phenotypic r = 0.26) and genetic transmission (explaining 0%-18% of the mother-offspring correlations), potential maternal effects explained 80% (95% CI = 47-95) of the association with offspring neuroticism (mother-child r = 0.31), 78% (95% CI = 66-89) of the association with offspring depressive symptoms (r = 0.31), and 98% (95% CI = 45-112) of the association with offspring anxiety symptoms (r = 0.16). Intergenerational transmission of genetic variants associated with paternal neuroticism accounted for ∼40% (CI = 22%-58%) of the father-offspring correlations with neuroticism and symptoms of depression (r = 0.13 and 0.13, respectively) but none with offspring symptoms of anxiety (r = 0.05). The remaining father-offspring correlations were explained by maternal influences through assortative mating.
Conclusions:
These results are consistent with direct effects between maternal and offspring neuroticism and between maternal neuroticism and offspring symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further understanding of these intergenerational processes will require an adequate model of how these constructs (neuroticism, anxiety and depression) relate to each other within generations.
... Television and social media can also be a beneficial medium when it comes to disseminating information to the public, provided appropriate regulation as per the scientific accuracy of information delivered is implemented for respective programs. Mothers are usually the most interested party towards heath and diet related information that is beneficial for their children's growth and development and their mentality is found to affect children's diet [54]. Independent of their education level, mothers interested in personal development are typically more open, interested and receptive to new information regarding their child's healthy development which translates into better dietary choices [55]. ...
Healthy nutritional habits are of vital importance for good health and quality of life for all individuals in all life stages. Nutritional habits shaped in early childhood set the foundation for future dietary practices applied through lifespan, hence informing risk towards chronic diseases. A key contributor to child health is maternal impact. A healthy childhood status translates into increased lifespan, health, and life-quality, as well as better family and social interactions and improved academic performance. These conditions can contribute to a healthier and more vibrant workforce, and thus extend positive impact on the economic and overall development of a country. Evidence related to maternal impact on childhood dietary habits is limited in Turkey, an emerging economy with notable disparities and a significant segment (approximately one third) of its 83 million population under the age of 30. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the socioeconomic status (SES) of mothers on the dietary habits of their preschool children. A pilot cross-sectional observational study was conducted involving the mothers of 109 preschool children aged 4–6 years. Data on the nutritional status of children were collected through a food frequency questionnaire and a 24-h recall interview, while sociodemographic information was also collected, and statistical analyses conducted. An unexpected finding regarding the lack of association between the socioeconomic and employment status of mothers and the nutritional intakes of their children was observed. Interestingly, it appears that more traditional societal and nutritional practices typically undertaken in the case of lower SES, especially in more traditional settings like the case of Turkey, appear to extend a protective effect as per the nutritional habits and ensuing obesity risk in the case of children of women with lower SES. Another way to interpret our finding is that the difference in education and SES is not adequate to produce a significant effect in terms of children dietary intake. This is an interesting finding that warrants further study. Additionally, such studies serve to increase awareness about the importance of healthy nutritional practices in preschool children and the critical role of the mother on their nutritional status, particularly in the Turkish idiosyncratic setting.
... Only a few longitudinal studies assessed the association of parental pressure to eat and child's later dietary intakes. In one study, parental pressure to eat assessed through infancy was associated with lower diet quality at 3 years, independently of several maternal characteristics, including BMI and sociodemographics, not accounting for child baseline characteristics except gender [41]. In a second study, pressure to eat assessed at 6 years was associated with unhealthy dietary behaviors (snacking and sugar-sweetened beverages consumption) at 8 years, although the associations were attenuated when accounting for child dietary behaviors and BMI zscore at age 6 [42]. ...
Parental feeding practices have been associated with children's dietary intakes, yet the directionality of these associations remains unclear. Among 1172 mother-child pairs from Project Viva, we aimed to examine associations of parental concerns and feeding behaviors at 2 years (behaviors dichotomized as yes vs. no), with diet quality (Youth Healthy Eating Index; YHEI) in early (mean 3.2, SD 0.3 years; n = 1076) and mid-childhood (mean 7.8, SD 0.7 years; n = 993). We used multivariable linear regression models adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics, parental body mass index (BMI), maternal diet quality in pregnancy, and child's BMI z-score and diet quality at 2 years. Early parental concerns about their child becoming overweight (15%) was associated with lower YHEI (β −1.54 points; 95%CI −2.75, −0.33; fully adjusted model) in early childhood. Early parental concerns about their child becoming underweight (7%) was associated with lower YHEI (−2.19 points; −4.31, −0.07) in early childhood, but the association was attenuated after adjustment for child's BMI z-score and diet quality at 2 years. We did not find associations of parental restrictive feeding (8%) and parental pressure to eat (47%) with child's YHEI through mid-childhood. In conclusion, we found no evidence that early parental concerns and feeding behaviors independently contribute to child's diet quality through childhood.
... Evidence confirms a link between parental psychopathology and children's eating behaviours (e.g., food refusal behaviours or feeding disorders), as well as dysfunctional mealtime interactions (e.g., Ammaniti, Lucarelli, Cimino, D'Olimpio, & Chatoor, 2010;Coulthard & Harris, 2003;Stein, Woolley, & McPherson, 1999). Parents with symptoms of mental health problems have been found to be more likely to use more controlling or non-responsive feeding practices with their children, and these findings are evident in both clinical and non-clinical samples (e.g., , 2011De Lauzon-Guillain, Musher-Eizenman, Leporc, Holub, & Charles, 2009;Elias et al., 2016;Francis, Hofer, & Birch, 2001;Goulding et al., 2014;Haycraft, Farrow, & Blissett, 2013;Hughes, Shewchuk, Baskin, Nicklas, & Qu, 2008;Hurley, Black, Papas, Caulfield, & Caufield, 2008;Mitchell, Brennan, Hayes, & Miles, 2009;Ystrom, Barker, & Vollrath, 2012). Controlling, non-responsive feeding practices are typified by parents not responding appropriately to their child's cues, which can include parents pressuring children to eat more than they wish, and also by parents exhibiting high levels of control in the food environment, such as overtly restricting children's intake of foods (e.g., Birch et al., 2001). ...
Parents have an important role in feeding their children. Parents' child feeding practices can be influenced by numerous factors. The presence of mental health symptoms can be associated with more controlling, less sensitive parent-child feeding interactions. However, it is not known whether mental health symptoms are related to parents' use of responsive, more autonomy supportive feeding practices which are important for promoting children's healthy eating habits. This study therefore aimed to examine the relationships between mental health symptoms and the use of controlling and responsive child feeding practices. A community sample of 415 UK mothers with a child age 2-4 years took part. They completed self-report measures of their levels of anxiety, depression and disordered eating behaviours as well as a comprehensive measure of their child feeding practices. The presence of mental health symptoms was significantly associated with greater self-reported use of controlling feeding practices, such as more restriction for weight control and using food as a reward. Maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression were related to lower use of modelling and monitoring but to giving children more control around food. Mothers' restrained and external eating behaviours were associated with greater use of several responsive feeding practices, including encouraging balance and variety, involvement, and teaching about nutrition. Together, these findings highlight the broad impact that mental health symptoms can have on mothers' controlling and responsive child feeding interactions. Interventions to support families to promote healthy child eating habits need to be aware of the role of even fairly mild, non-clinical levels of mental health symptoms on maternal sensitivity and involvement in feeding their children.
... Maternal mental and physical health characteristics may also influence feeding style and practices. Maternal symptoms of anxiety and depression have been associated with a lower extent of breast feeding [27], increased use of control and pressure to eat [27][28][29][30], and a less wholesome and a more unhealthy diet [31]. The association between maternal anxiety or depression and early introduction of solid food is more unclear. ...
Norwegian Health authorities recommend solid food to be introduced between child age 4–6 months, depending on both the mother´s and infant’s needs. The aim of this paper is to describe timing of complementary feeding in a current sample of Norwegian mother/infant-dyads and explore potential associations between timing of introduction to solid foods and a wide range of maternal and infant characteristics known from previous literature to influence early feeding interactions. The paper is based on data from the Norwegian randomized controlled trial Early Food for Future Health. In 2016, a total of 715 mothers completed a web-based questionnaire at child age 5.5 months. We found that 5% of the infants were introduced to solid food before 4 months of age, while 14% were not introduced to solid food at 5.5 months of age. Introduction of solid food before 4 months of age was associated with the infant not being exclusive breastfed the first month, receiving only formula milk at 3 months, the mother being younger, not married/cohabitant, smoking, less educated and having more economic difficulties. Not being introduced to solid food at 5.5 months was associated with the infant being a girl, being exclusive breastfed the first month, receiving only breastmilk at 3 months, the mother being older, married and having 3 or more children. This study shows that there are still clear socioeconomic differences regarding timing of complementary feeding in Norway. Infants of younger, less educated and smoking mothers are at higher risk of not being fed in compliance with the official infant feeding recommendations. Our findings emphasize the importance of targeting socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers for support on healthy feeding practices focusing on the infant`s needs to prevent early onset of social inequalities in health.
... Prior studies indicate that anxiety symptoms during pregnancy may impact both the mother and the fetus. Adverse effects may include appetite and sleep disruption, increased risk of substance abuse, and increased risk of postpartum depression and anxiety [6][7][8][9][10]. Furthermore, research has shown that exposure to maternal anxiety may increase the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes including low birth weight [11][12][13], preterm birth [11,14,15], and low Apgar scores [16] as well as obstetric complications such as cesarean section delivery [13] and preeclampsia [17]. ...
Objective:
The goal of this analysis was to examine the effect of benzodiazepine use during pregnancy on maternal and neonatal outcomes in a cohort of women with psychiatric disorders.
Methods:
794 evaluable women from the Massachusetts General Hospital National Pregnancy Registry for Psychiatric Medications were followed across pregnancy (N = 144 exposed to benzodiazepines and N = 650 unexposed). Data obtained through maternal report and medical records included maternal outcomes (cesarean section, preeclampsia) and neonatal outcomes (birth weight, breathing difficulty, feeding difficulty, head circumference, 5-minute Apgar score, muscular and/or extrapyramidal symptoms, NICU admission, prematurity).
Results:
In adjusted analyses, infants exposed to benzodiazepines in utero were more likely to be admitted to the NICU (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.11, 3.66) and to have small head circumferences (OR: 3.89, 95% CI: 1.25, 12.03) compared to unexposed infants. Other neonatal adverse effects such as respiratory distress or muscular symptoms including hypotonia were not observed. There were no significant differences in adverse obstetrical outcomes.
Conclusions:
Infants exposed to benzodiazepines during pregnancy had an increased risk of NICU admissions and small head circumferences. Confounding from psychiatric symptoms and other variables cannot be ruled out as contributors to these findings.
... . From pregnancy and throughout the preschool years, the peak level of maternal depressive symptoms is when the child is between 1.5 and 3 years of age . Maternal depression is related to parental behavior, and research has suggested that maternal depression may affect child development on several domains, including cognitive and language development (Grace, Evindar, & Stewart, 2003;Sohr-Preston & Scaramella, 2006); mental health problems (Goodman et al., 2011;Lieb, Isensee, Höfler, Pfister, & Wittchen, 2002); suboptimal diet (Ystrom, 2012;Ystrom, Barker, & Vollrath, 2012); and a number of different social, emotional, and behavior problems (Goodman et al., 2011;Grace et al., 2003;Nilsen, Gustavson, Røysamb, Kjeldsen, & Karevold, 2013). There are a limited number of community-and population-based studies examining the association between maternal depression and sleep problems in younger children. ...
Child sleep problems are associated with maternal depressive symptoms. It is unclear to what extent the association is due to direct effects or common risk factors for mother and child. Direct effects could represent child-driven processes, where child sleep problems influence maternal depressive symptoms, or mother-driven processes, where maternal depressive symptoms influence child sleep problems. Common factors could be shared genetic and familial environmental risk. Child- and mother-driven processes are direct in the sense that they are not due to common factors. However, such processes could be mediated by a range of unmeasured variables. By using an autoregressive fixed-effects model on a community-based longitudinal sample comprising 956 families assessed when children were 1.5, 2.5, and 4 years of age, we estimated the direction of effect between, and common causes of, child sleep problems and maternal depressive symptoms. We were able to explain the association between child sleep problems and maternal depressive symptoms by both child-driven and mother-driven processes. The effect of child-driven processes was significantly larger than the effect of mother-driven processes. The clinical implication of the study is that treatment of child sleep problems will have considerable effect on maternal depressive symptoms. Furthermore, our model supports that treatment of current child sleep problems will have a direct effect on future sleep problems and also an indirect effect on future maternal depressive symptoms. We recommend that health professionals assess child sleep problems in mothers at risk for depression. (PsycINFO Database Record
... In general, restricting a child's access to certain foods, especially palatable foods, can increase a child's preference for that food (Birch et al., 2001;Ogden, Cordey, Cutler, & Thomas, 2013), and in fact, even if fruit is restricted, when it is made available, children will increase their intake of that forbidden food (Jansen et al., 2008). Restriction has been found to be beneficial for children's diet quality before the age of 4 years (Durao et al., 2015;Gubbels et al., 2009;Ystrom, Barker, & Vollrath, 2012), although it may backfire as the child ages. In other words, if a parent restricts his or her child's access to or intake of palatable foods, it would be successful when the child is younger; however, as the child ages he or she may eat more even if they are not hungry due to their heightened preference for palatable foods (Birch, Fisher, & Davison, 2003;Francis & Birch, 2005). ...
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between food-related parenting practices and child fruit, vegetable, and high fat/sugar food preferences. Parents (n = 148) of children (3–7 years old) completed the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ), the Preschool Adapted Food Liking Scale (PALS), and answered demographic questions. Separate linear regressions were conducted to test relationships between the different food categories on PALS (fruits, vegetables, and high fat/sugar foods) and each food-related parenting practice using race, ethnicity, and income level as covariates. It was found that when a parent allows a child to control eating, it was negatively associated with a child's preference for fruit (β = −0.15, p = 0.032) and parent encouragement of child involvement in meal preparation was positively related to child preference for vegetables (β = 0.14, p = 0.048). Children preferred high fat and sugar foods more if parents used food to regulate child emotions (β = 0.24, p = 0.007), used food as a reward (β = 0.32, p < 0.001), pressured the child to eat more food (β = 0.16, p = 0.045), and restricted unhealthy food (β = 0.20, p = 0.024). Conversely, children preferred high fat and sugar foods less if parents made healthy food available in the home (β = −0.13, p = 0.05), modeled healthy eating in front of the child (β = −0.21, p = 0.021), and if parents explained why healthy foods should be consumed (β = −0.24, p = 0.011). Although it cannot be determined if the parent is influencing the child or vice versa, this study provides some evidence that coercive feeding practices are detrimental to a child's food preferences.
... Both controlling parental practices and negative mood during mealtimes have been shown to contribute to the development, in young children, of dislike for the food being presented at the time (Bante, Elliott, Harrod and Haire-Joshu, 2008;Fisher, Mitchell, Smiciklas-Wright and Birch, 2002;Gregory, Paxton and Brozovic, 2011;Koivisto, Fellenius and Sjödén, 1994;Ystrom, Barker and Vollrath, 2012). If the same is true for infants, then the predominance of both avoidant behaviour by the infant and controlling behaviour by the mother, as seen in the spoon event, may indicate that spoon feeding itself has the potential to lead to the dislike of certain foods. ...
The weaning period, in which complementary foods are introduced into the infant’s diet, can be challenging, with dislike of novel foods known to be common. However, even though at six months (the current recommended age for the introduction of complementary foods) most infants are able to feed themselves with graspable pieces of food, the majority of the research to date assumes the use of spoon feeding and pureed food. The potential impact of the format of the food and the feeding method on the development of food preferences has not been explored. This paper describes the development and piloting of a coding scheme to examine infants’ responses to their first solid food offered in two formats – whole and pureed – and by two methods – self-feeding and spoon feeding, and its first use. The findings for the 10 infants in the study point to some important differences between the two feeding methods.
... The influence of cross-cultural differences were noted when African-American and Spanish-speaking Hispanic compared with English-speaking Hispanics mothers (8) , as well as American compared with French mothers (10) , were significantly associated with the use of food to calm fussy infants or as a reward. In addition, mothers with higher BMI have been associated with poorer child eating habits (8) , reduced pressure and restrictions to eat in children (11) , while other studies found no significant associations (7,12,13) . In multi-ethnic studies conducted in the USA in children aged 2 to 7 years, both Hispanic and African-American parents preferred their children to be heavier (14,15) , and tended to associate higher child BMI with health and strength (15,16) , compared with Whites. ...
Objective
Little is known about the influences of maternal and infant correlates on maternal feeding beliefs and practices in the first 2 years of life, despite its important role in early obesogenic eating behaviours and weight gain.
Design
Cross-sectional study using demographic data of mothers and infants obtained at 26–28 weeks of gestation, and postnatally from birth to 15 months, respectively. The Infant Feeding Questionnaire was administered at 15 months postpartum. The associations between maternal and infant characteristics with seven maternal feeding beliefs and practices subscales were evaluated using multivariate linear regression analysis.
Setting
Data obtained from the Singapore GUSTO (Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes) mother–offspring birth cohort.
Subjects
Mothers and infants (
n
1237).
Results
Among other maternal correlates such as age, education, BMI, income and milk feeding practices, ethnicity was a consistent factor associated with six subscales, including concern about infant overeating/undereating and weight status, concern and awareness about infants’ hunger and satiety cues, social interaction during feeding and feeding an infant on schedule. Similarly, among infant correlates such as gender and birth order, infant body size gain (reflected by BMI
Z
-score change from 0 to 15 months) was significantly associated with all subscales except feeding an infant on schedule. Overall, maternal correlates had greater influence on all subscales compared with infant correlates except for the maternal concern about infant undereating or becoming underweight subscale.
Conclusions
The present study highlights that maternal feeding beliefs and practices can be influenced by both maternal correlates and infant correlates at 15 months of age.
... However, comparable findings have been reported. Monitoring was negatively associated with unhealthier eating (Arredondo et al. 2006), and restriction (Ystrom et al. 2012) was positively associated with a wholesome dietary pattern. ...
This study examined the association of family and maternal characteristics with preschool children's dietary patterns. Trained interviewers evaluated subsample 3422 mothers and children enrolled in the population-based birth cohort Generation XXI (Porto, Portugal, 2005-2006). Maternal characteristics and behaviours (exercise, smoking habits, diet and child-feeding practices) and family characteristics were evaluated. Maternal diet was classified by a dietary score, and children's dietary patterns were identified by latent class analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated by multinomial regression models. The analysis was based on a framework with four conceptual levels: maternal socio-economic position (SEP) at 12 years, maternal socio-economic and demographic characteristics at child's delivery, family characteristics and maternal behaviours at child's 4 years. Three dietary patterns were identified in children: high in energy-dense foods (EDF); low in foods typically consumed at main meals and intermediate in snacks (Snacking); higher in healthy foods; and lower in unhealthy ones (Healthier, reference). Lower maternal SEP had an overall effect on children's diet (low vs. high SEP; EDF, OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 1.42-2.18; Snacking, OR = 1.73, 95% CI: 1.27-2.35), while maternal education was directly associated with it (≤9 vs. >12 schooling years, EDF, OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.70-2.81; Snacking, OR = 2.22, 95% CI: 1.82-3.55). Children whose mothers had worse dietary score were significantly more likely to follow unhealthier patterns (first vs. fourth quartile; EDF, OR = 9.94, 95% CI: 7.35-13.44, P-trend < 0.001; Snacking, OR = 4.21, 95% CI: 2.94-6.05, P-trend < 0.001). Maternal diet was the key factor associated with children's diet, above and beyond socio-economic and demographic characteristics, accounting for one-third of the determination coefficient of the fully adjusted model. At preschool age, interventions should give a particular focus on maternal diet and low SEP groups.
... 5,34 Later in childhood, an external parental locus of control has been associated with unhealthier child diets. 35 Further longitudinal study is needed to understand how prenatal internal locus of control will impact maternal-child feeding behaviors and child weight trajectories. ...
Objective:
To determine the relations between household material hardships and having a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity in low-income Hispanic pregnant women.
Methods:
We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data collected during a third trimester prenatal visit from women participating in the Starting Early Study, a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of a primary care-based family-centered early child obesity prevention intervention. Using multiple logistic regression analyses, we determined whether four domains of material hardship (food insecurity, difficulty paying bills, housing disrepair, neighborhood stress), considered both individually and cumulatively, were associated with having a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity.
Results:
The sample included 559 low-income Hispanic pregnant women, with 60% having experienced at least one hardship. Food insecurity was independently associated with a low internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity (AOR 2.38, 95% CI 1.50 - 3.77), controlling for other hardships and confounders. Experiencing a greater number of material hardships was associated in a dose-dependent relationship to an increased odds of having a low internal locus of control.
Conclusions:
Prenatal material hardships, in particular food insecurity, were associated with having a lower prenatal internal locus of control over the prevention of child obesity. Longitudinal follow-up of this cohort is needed to determine how relations between material hardships and having a low internal locus of control will ultimately impact infant feeding practices and child weight trajectories.
... A similar, separate study by Rodenburg and colleagues found controlling food-related parenting practices to be prospectively associated with increased in snacking and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in a large (n = 1275) sample of 9-year-old children. Three additional, separate studies, conducted within populations of schoolaged children also found food restriction [35] and pressure-toeat [36,37] at baseline to be associated with higher intake of junk food, sweets, and snacks. A study of preschool children, conducted by Jarmen and colleagues, found controlling food-related parenting practices to be prospectively associated with more neophobia; these findings provide longitudinal evidence to support the cross-sectional associations observed between high parental food control and child food aversion that were described previously [24,30]. ...
The identification of modifiable determinants child dietary intake has become a public health priority. Food-related parenting practices, including pressure-to-eat and food restriction, have been identified as potentially significant determinants of dietary intake in children. This is a review of the literature to date that has explored the relationship between food restriction and pressure-to-eat and child dietary intake. In general, findings from laboratory-based studies and longitudinal studies suggest that children exposed to high levels of food restriction and pressure-to-eat are more likely to consume sugar-sweetened beverages, palatable snack foods, and calorie-dense food items than children exposed to lower levels. Results from the body of cross-sectional studies examining this relationship are decidedly less conclusive, yielding inconsistent and sometimes contradictory results. Overall, the concept of food-related parenting practices as a potentially modifiable factor with the potential to positively impact child dietary intake patterns continues to be worth pursuing through additional future research.
... However, comparable findings have been reported. Monitoring was negatively associated with unhealthier eating (Arredondo et al. 2006), and restriction (Ystrom et al. 2012) was positively associated with a wholesome dietary pattern. ...
This study aimed to evaluate the association between maternal perceived responsibility and child-feeding practices and dietary inadequacy of 4-year-old children. We studied 4122 mothers and children enrolled in the population-based birth cohort - Generation XXI (Porto-Portugal). Mothers self-completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire and a scale on covert and overt control, and answered to a food frequency questionnaire in face-to-face interviews. Using dietary guidelines for preschool children, adequacy intervals were defined: fruit and vegetables (F&V) 4-7 times/day; dairy 3-5 times/day; meat and eggs 5-10 times/week; fish 2-4 times/week. Inadequacy was considered as below or above these cut-points. For energy-dense micronutrient-poor foods and beverages (EDF), a tolerable limit was defined (<6 times/week). Associations between maternal perceived responsibility and child-feeding practices (restriction, monitoring, pressure to eat, overt and covert control) and children's diet were examined by logistic regression models. After adjustment for maternal BMI, education, and diet, and children's characteristics (sex, BMI z-scores), restriction, monitoring, overt and covert control were associated with 11-18% lower odds of F&V consumption below the interval defined as adequate. Overt control was also associated with 24% higher odds of their consumption above it. Higher perceived responsibility was associated with higher odds of children consuming F&V and dairy above recommendations. Pressure to eat was positively associated with consumption of dairy above the adequate interval. Except for pressure to eat, maternal practices were associated with 14-27% lower odds of inadequate consumption of EDF. In conclusion, children whose mothers had higher levels of covert control, monitoring, and restriction were less likely to consume F&V below recommendations and EDF above tolerable limits. Higher overt control and pressure to eat were associated, respectively, with higher possibility of children consuming F&V and dairy above recommendations.
Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
... Maternal depression may affect child development. Children of depressed mothers are at risk for delayed cognitive and language development (9,10), mental health problems (11)(12)(13), suboptimal diet (14)(15)(16), and a number of different social, emotional, and behavioral problems (9,11,17,18). Population screeners for depression measure feelings of everything being an effort. ...
Background: There is a lack of population-based studies on multiple births and maternal mental health. Having a high-risk pregnancy by bearing two or more children is a stressful life event, and the challenges of parenting two or more children probably also lead to a high level of parental stress. There are a few results on multiple births and maternal mental health from studies on in vitro fertilization samples. The only previous cohort study on multiple birth and maternal mental health included a single measure of depressive symptoms at 9 months postpartum. We aim to estimate the relative risk for depression and anxiety after multiple birth in a population-based prospective cohort study while adjusting for factors prior and subsequent to fertilization.
Methods: We used data from 87,807 pregnancies included in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study. Information on multiple birth was retrieved from the Norwegian Medical Birth Registry, and maternal mental health was assessed at 17th and 30th week of gestation and 0.5, 1.5, 3, and 5 years postpartum. There were 1,842 plural births included in the study (i.e. 1,821 twin births and 21 higher order births). We predicted maternal mental health at each time point, subsequently adjusting for 1) factors prior to fertilization (e.g. maternal age and in vitro fertilization); 2) factors during pregnancy (e.g. hypertensive states); 3) factors at delivery (e.g. cesarean section); 4) child-related postnatal complications (e.g. intracranial hemorrhage); and 5) concurrent depression or anxiety after pregnancy.
Results: Adjusted for antecedents of plural birth, mothers expecting a plural birth had a normal risk for anxiety (RR=1.05; 95% CI 0.92-1.20) and depression (RR=1.02; 95% CI 0.89-1.16) at 17th week of gestation. However, plural birth was associated with maternal depression at 1.5, 3, and 5 years postpartum and maternal anxiety at 3 years postpartum. The trend was for the association to increase across time, and mothers of multiplets had a significant higher risk for depression at 5 years (RR=1.77; 95% CI 1.33-2.35). Fully adjusted the RR for depression was 1.51 (95% CI 1.10-2.08). By adjusting depression for concurrent anxiety, and vice versa we found the effect of multiple pregnancy to be specific to depression and not anxiety.
Conclusions: Mothers expecting multiplets have normal mental health during pregnancy. After birth there is an increasing risk for depression up to 5 years of age. Our findings indicate that more is simply more, and mothers of multiplets have need for additional support several years postpartum
... Among the items of feeding practice, only two items (pressure to eat and restriction) were considered by many studies [35][36][37]. Although the model fitted the data well and all the linked hypotheses were found to be significant, there was less evidence of previous studies to support the model inasmuch as the application of structural equation modeling in health and nutrition studies is relatively new. ...
The main objective of this study is to identify and develop a comprehensive model which estimates and evaluates the overall relations among the factors that lead to weight gain in children by using structural equation modeling. The proposed models in this study explore the connection among the socioeconomic status of the family, parental feeding practice, and physical activity. Six structural models were tested to identify the direct and indirect relationship between the socioeconomic status and parental feeding practice general level of physical activity, and weight status of children. Finally, a comprehensive model was devised to show how these factors relate to each other as well as to the body mass index (BMI) of the children simultaneously. Concerning the methodology of the current study, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to reveal the hidden (secondary) effect of socioeconomic factors on feeding practice and ultimately on the weight status of the children and also to determine the degree of model fit. The comprehensive structural model tested in this study suggested that there are significant direct and indirect relationships among variables of interest. Moreover, the results suggest that parental feeding practice and physical activity are mediators in the structural model.
... 44 However, a few studies have found results similar to the current study, with parents reporting restriction of a food as an effective strategy in getting children to consume healthier foods. [45][46][47] Previous findings have associated indulgent feeding with child intake of unhealthy food 17 and higher weight. 8,19,20 In addition, observations of indulgent parents have shown that these parents exhibit lower levels of negative affect and intrusiveness and higher levels of emotional detachment in their interactions with their children during the dinner meal. ...
To examine the moderating effects of feeding styles on the relationship between food parenting practices and fruit and vegetable (F & V) intake in low-income families with preschool-aged children.
Focus group meetings with Head Start parents were conducted by using the nominal group technique. Parents completed information on food parenting practices and feeding styles. Three dietary recalls were collected on each child.
Parents completed measures in Head Start centers and/or over the telephone.
667 parents of preschool-aged children participated.
Food parenting practices and F & V intake.
Mean differences in the food parenting practices across the 4 feeding styles were established through multivariate general linear modeling using MANOVA. Moderated multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the moderating role of feeding style on food parenting practices and child F & V intake.
The indulgent feeding style moderated the relationship between food parenting practices and child F & V intake.
This study indicates that parents' feeding styles have a moderating effect on the relationship between the food parenting practices and children's F & V intake. This finding can facilitate the development of interventions aimed at reducing childhood overweight.
... In the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), an 'unhealthy' and a 'wholesome' dietary pattern among both 18-month-old and 3-year-old children have been found (13,20) . These patterns are comparable with the 'unhealthy' and 'healthy' patterns derived in the present study, as 'unhealthy' patterns were characterised by fatty and sugary food items, while the 'wholesome' or 'healthy' patterns included fish, rice, pasta, vegetables and fruits. ...
Infant and childhood nutrition influences short- and long-term health. The objective of the present paper has been to explore dietary patterns and their associations with child and parent characteristics at two time points. Parents of Norwegian 2-year-olds were, in 1999 (n 3000) and in 2007 (n 2984), invited to participate in a national dietary survey. At both time points, diet was assessed by a semi-quantitative FFQ that also provided information on several child and parent characteristics. A total of 1373 participants in the 1999 sample and 1472 participants in the 2007 sample were included in the analyses. Dietary patterns were identified by principal components analysis and related to child and parent characteristics using the general linear model. Four dietary patterns were identified at each time point. The 'unhealthy' and 'healthy' patterns in 1999 and 2007 showed similarities with regard to loadings of food groups. Both the 'bread and spread-based' pattern in 1999 and the 'traditional' pattern in 2007 had high positive loadings for bread and spreads; however, the 'traditional' pattern did also include positive associations with a warm meal. The last patterns identified in 1999 and in 2007 were not comparable with regard to loadings of food groups. All dietary patterns were significantly associated with one or several child and parent characteristics. In conclusion, the 'unhealthy' patterns in 1999 and in 2007 showed similarities with regard to loadings of food groups and were, at both time points, associated with sex, breastfeeding at 12 months of age, parity, maternal age and maternal work situation.
Maternal feeding beliefs and practices have been associated with weight gain in infants and young children. Less work examines feeding beliefs prenatally or the feeding beliefs of other non-maternal caregivers (NMCs) who play important roles in infant feeding. This study validates a scale, the Infant Feeding Beliefs Questionnaire (IFBQ), to assess feeding beliefs during pregnancy among African-American women and other caregivers and tests whether the resulting belief constructs (laissez-faire, restrictive, responsive, pressuring and indulgent) are associated with maternal and NMC characteristics.
Data come from 429 pregnant women and 374 NMCs including fathers, grandmothers and other family and friends enrolled in the baseline 28-week gestation visit of the Mothers and Others Study, a family-based, randomized control trial to support healthy infant feeding and prevent obesity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the fit of four a priori feeding constructs. Models were modified iteratively in mothers and then separately tested in the NMCs sample. Construct scores were created by averaging the remaining items and scale reliability was assessed. External validity was tested using bivariate and multivariable regression models.
We validated five feeding belief constructs, measured through 8 sub-constructs. Reliability coefficients ranged from 0.58 for laissez faire to 0.76 for pressuring. Goodness of fit indices for CFA models indicated good fit with CFIs from 0.97 to 0.99 and RMSEA from 0.00 to 0.06. Construct scores differed significantly by depressive symptoms, obesity, education, income, and previous children in mothers and NMCs.
The IFBQ may be used among mothers and NMCs to assess feeding beliefs beginning in the prenatal period, providing a tool to assess the longitudinal development of feeding beliefs and to highlight avenues for intervention on feeding practices during a critical period for behavior change.
Parental feeding practices influence the learning of healthy eating since childhood. But the lack of clear descriptions and inconsistent terminology of such practices hampers the understanding of their influence on such learning. From a selected review of scientific articles that included descriptions of parental feeding practices and relationships with any aspect of children’s eating behavior, we analyzed the behavioral descriptions stated in literature during the last decade (2006-2016) with the purpose to clarify relations among these and the children’s eating behavior. The results were categorized based on the relationships between feeding practices and the challenges in infant feeding behavior such as acceptance of new foods, development of food preferences, and food self-regulation. The results reflect some practices associated with both desirable and undesirable children’s eating behavior. Confusion in terminology and lack of consistency in behavioral descriptions of parental feeding practices and explanations of the mechanisms of such practices are still unknown. Some considerations are proposed for future research.
Background
Childhood overweight and obesity is a global public health challenge. Primary prevention initiatives targeting parents have been called for to encourage a positive feeding environment and healthy eating habits that may lay a good foundation for future health. At the same time, there is a need for interventions which combine accessibility and scalability with cost effectiveness.
Today’s parents are extensive Internet-users, but only a few randomized controlled trials have investigated the use of Internet to promote healthy eating habits in early childhood. In Early Food for Future Health we have developed and will evaluate an Internet-based tool for parents of children between 6 and 12 months, aiming to increase knowledge about infant nutrition and foster protective feeding behavior.
Methods
During springtime 2016, parents of children aged between 3 and 5 months were recruited through Norwegian child health centres and announcements on Facebook. After completing the baseline questionnaire, 718 parents were individually randomized to intervention- or control group. The intervention group received monthly emails with links to an age-appropriate web-site when their child was between 6 and 12 months. The control group received ordinary care from the child health centres.
The data-collection is ongoing. All participants will be followed up at ages 12 and possibly 24 and 48 months, with questionnaires relating to eating behaviour and feeding practices, food variety and diet quality.
Discussion
Providing guidance and counseling to parents of infants is an important task for health authorities and the public child health services. Early Food for Future health is an intervention focusing on promoting early healthy food-habits which may prevent childhood overweight and obesity. If proven to be effective, Early Food for Future Health can be used by parents and public health nurses for supplementary guidance on feeding practices and diet.
This study has the potential to provide greater insight and understanding regarding early parental feeding practices, child eating behavior and the development and efficacy of Internet-based public health interventions.
Trial registration
ISRCTN13601567.
The primary aim of the present study was to cross-sectionally examine the associations between maternal psychosocial variables, child feeding practices, and preschooler body mass index z-score (BMI-z) in children (aged 2–4 years). A secondary aim was to examine differences in child weight outcomes between mothers scoring above and below specified cut-offs on the psychosocial measures. Two hundred and ninety mother–child dyads were recruited from Melbourne, Australia, and completed questionnaires examining demographic information, mothers’ depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem and body dissatisfaction, restrictive and pressure child feeding practices, and preschoolers’ BMI-z scores. Independent t-tests and hierarchical multiple regression were employed to analyse the data. In the final regression model, none of the maternal psychosocial measures or feeding practices predicted child BMI-z scores; maternal body mass index and employment status were the only predictors of preschooler BMI-z. However, independent t-tests revealed that children of mothers with elevated body dissatisfaction scores had significantly higher BMI-z scores than children of mothers without elevated scores. The results suggest that psychosocial variables are not related, cross-sectionally, to preschooler weight outcomes; however, further research is needed to replicate the group differences noted between mothers with and without body dissatisfaction, and to track these relationships longitudinally.
It is important to increase the awareness of indicators associated with adverse infant dietary patterns to be able to prevent or to improve dietary patterns early on.
The aim of this study was to investigate the association between a wide range of possible family and child indicators and adherence to dietary patterns for infants aged 9 months.
The two dietary patterns 'Family Food' and 'Health-Conscious Food' were displayed by principal component analysis, and associations with possible indicators were analysed by multiple linear regressions in a pooled sample (n=374) of two comparable observational cohorts, SKOT I and SKOT II. These cohorts comprised infants with mainly non-obese mothers versus infants with obese mothers, respectively.
A lower Family Food score indicates a higher intake of liquid baby food, as this pattern shows transition from baby food towards the family's food. Infants, who were younger at diet registration and had higher body mass index (BMI) z-scores at 9 months, had lower Family Food pattern scores. A lower Family Food pattern score was also observed for infants with immigrant/descendant parents, parents who shared cooking responsibilities and fathers in the labour market compared to being a student, A lower Health-Conscious Food pattern score indicates a less healthy diet. A lower infant Health-Conscious Food pattern score was associated with a higher maternal BMI, a greater number of children in the household, a higher BMI z-score at 9 months, and a higher infant age at diet registration.
Associations between infant dietary patterns and maternal, paternal, household, and child characteristics were identified. This may improve the possibility of identifying infants with an increased risk of developing unfavourable dietary patterns and potentially enable an early targeted preventive support.
The preschool years may be a critical period for child obesity onset, however literature examining obesity risk factors to date has largely focused on school-aged children. Several links have been made between maternal depression and childhood obesity risks, however other types of maternal psychopathology have been widely neglected. The aim of the present review was to systematically identify articles that examined relationships between maternal psychopathology variables, including depressive and anxiety symptoms, self-esteem and body dissatisfaction, and risks for pre-schooler obesity, including weight outcomes, physical activity and sedentary behaviour levels, and nutrition/diet variables. Twenty articles meeting review criteria were identified. Results showed positive associations between maternal depressive symptoms and increased risks for pre-schooler obesity in the majority of studies. Results were inconsistent depending on the time at which depression was measured (i.e., antenatal, postnatal, in isolation or longitudinally). Anxiety and body dissatisfaction were only measured in single studies, however both were linked to pre-schooler obesity risks; self-esteem was not measured by any studies. We concluded that maternal depressive symptoms are important to consider when assessing risks for obesity in preschool-aged children, however more research is needed examining the impact of other facets of maternal psychopathology on obesity risk in pre-schoolers. Keywords: pre-schooler; early childhood; obesity; obesity risk factors; mother; maternal psychopathology; maternal depression.
Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This study evaluated the sensitivity of maximum likelihood (ML)- generalized least squares (GLS) - and asymptotic distribution-free (ADF)-based fit indices to model misspecification under conditions that varied sample size and distribution. The effect of violating assumptions of asymptotic robustness theory also was examined. Standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR) was the most sensitive index to models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and Tucker–Lewis Index (1973; TLI)Bollen's fit index (1989; BL89) relative noncentrality index (RNI) comparative fit index (CFI) and the ML- and GLS-based gamma hat McDonald's centrality index (1989; Mc) and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) were the most sensitive indices to models with misspecified factor loadings. With ML and GLS methods we recommend the use of SRMR supplemented by TLI BL89 RNI CFI gamma hat Mc or RMSEA (TLI Mc and RMSEA are less preferable at small sample sizes). With the ADF method we recommend the use of SRMR supplemented by TLI BL89 RNI or CFI. Finally most of the ML-based fit indices outperformed those obtained from GLS and ADF and are preferable for evaluating model fit.
In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Recent years have witnessed an upsurge of interest in how personality affects the stress process. This paper reports on a broad spectrum of findings on the relationships between personality and stress, taking transactional stress theory as the point of departure. A first part outlines the different approaches stress research has taken within personality psychology as opposed to research based on transactional stress theory and discusses the debate between these two paradigms. The second part gives an overview of empirical findings, with a focus on the Big Five personality factors, in order to demonstrate that personality affects the stress process in every aspect. The discussion suggests that we address unresolved problems of transactional stress research in the framework of interactionist personality psychology. Special attention ought to be given to developing a better understanding of situational characteristics, stress-producing mechanisms, and the functions of situational choices and coping strategies for personality.
The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) is an observational, prospective study of up to 100 000 families. The study aims to find causes of diseases, with a focus on the interplay between early exposures and genetic factors. The collection of possible exposures starts in pregnancy. As of September 2007, about 80 000 families participate. A series of subprojects are ongoing, and analyses and publications are on their way. This paper presents the present situation of MoBa, and highlights new challenges and opportunities.
In this article, we attempt to distinguish between the properties of moderator and mediator variables at a number of levels. First, we seek to make theorists and researchers aware of the importance of not using the terms moderator and mediator interchangeably by carefully elaborating, both conceptually and strategically, the many ways in which moderators and mediators differ. We then go beyond this largely pedagogical function and delineate the conceptual and strategic implications of making use of such distinctions with regard to a wide range of phenomena, including control and stress, attitudes, and personality traits. We also provide a specific compendium of analytic procedures appropriate for making the most effective use of the moderator and mediator distinction, both separately and in terms of a broader causal system that includes both moderators and mediators.
A number of apparently diverse personality scales––variously assessing trait anxiety, neuroticism, ego strength, general maladjustment, repression-sensitization, and social desirability––are reviewed and are shown to be in fact measures of the same stable and pervasive trait. An integrative interpretation of the construct as Negative Affectivity (NA) is presented. A review of studies using measures such as the Beck Depression Inventory, Eysenck Personality Inventory, and Multiple Affect Adjective Check List indicate that high-NA Ss are more likely to experience discomfort at all times and across situations, even in the absence of overt stress. They are relatively more introspective and tend differentially to dwell on the negative side of themselves and the world. Further research is needed to explain the origins of NA and to elucidate the characteristics of low-NA individuals. (5½ p ref)
The article presents a theoretical framework for studying emotion-personality relations and an empirical study of the stability of 88 normal middle-class mothers' emotion experiences and their relations to personality during the 3 years after childbirth. Ss completed the Differential Emotions Scale (DES), Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire, Jackson's Personality Research Form, and Zuckerman's Sensation Seeking Scale. The DES demonstrated stability over 3 years. There was individual stability despite changes in group means during the postpartum period. Positive emotionality, as well as the discrete emotions of interest, enjoyment, and shyness, predicted Extraversion. Negative emotionality and the discrete negative emotions were significant predictors of Neuroticism. Positive emotionality was inversely related to Neuroticism. There were expectable correlations among specific emotions and primary traits of personality.
Examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Parent Attribution Test (PAT; Bugental, Blue, & Cruzcosa, 1989), the Parental Locus of Control Scale (PLOC; Campis, Lyman, & Prentice-Dunn, 1986), and the Parenting Sense of Competence-Efficacy Scale (PSOC-Efficacy; Johnston & Mash, 1989) in 3 samples of community mothers. In the 1st 2 samples, mothers also completed measures of negative affect and social desirability. In the 3rd sample, the PAT and PSOC-Efficacy scales were administered with measures of adult attachment style and child behavior problems. There was weak support for the convergent validity of the measures. Moreover, the discriminant validity of the measures was not adequately demonstrated. Our results suggest that PLOC and PSOC-Efficacy scores may reflect distress and response style as well as beliefs about parenting. Scores on the PAT, although less influenced by response style and distress, appear to reflect a different dimension of efficacy than that assessed by other self-report measures.
The Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) is a self-report measure to assess parental beliefs, attitudes, and practices regarding child feeding, with a focus on obesity proneness in children. Confirmatory factor analysis tested a 7-factor model, which included four factors measuring parental beliefs related to child's obesity proneness, and three factors measuring parental control practices and attitudes regarding child feeding. Using a sample of 394 mothers and fathers, three models were tested, and the third model confirmed an acceptable fit, including correlated factors. Internal consistencies for the seven factors were above 0.70. With minor changes, this same 7-factor model was also confirmed in a second sample of 148 mothers and fathers, and a third sample of 126 Hispanic mothers and fathers. As predicted, four of the seven factors were related to an independent measure of children's weight status, providing initial support for the validity of the instrument. The CFQ can be used to assess aspects of child-feeding perceptions, attitudes, and practices and their relationships to children's developing food acceptance patterns, the controls of food intake, and obesity. The CFQ is designed for use with parents of children ranging in age from about 2 to 11 years of age.
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is widely used for examining hypothesized relations among ordinal variables (e.g., Likert-type items). A theoretically appropriate method fits the CFA model to polychoric correlations using either weighted least squares (WLS) or robust WLS. Importantly, this approach assumes that a continuous, normal latent process determines each observed variable. The extent to which violations of this assumption undermine CFA estimation is not well-known. In this article, the authors empirically study this issue using a computer simulation study. The results suggest that estimation of polychoric correlations is robust to modest violations of underlying normality. Further, WLS performed adequately only at the largest sample size but led to substantial estimation difficulties with smaller samples. Finally, robust WLS performed well across all conditions.
To investigate the relationship between maternal psychopathological symptomatology during pregnancy and at 6 and 12 months postnatally and maternal use of controlling and restrictive feeding practices at 1 year.
Eighty-seven women completed a measure of psychological distress during pregnancy and at 6 and 12 months postpartum, and at 12 months postnatally these women reported their usage of controlling and restrictive feeding practices and were observed feeding their infants.
General psychological distress, particularly anxious psychopathology, during pregnancy and at 6 and 12 months postnatally was significantly associated with maternal use of restrictive feeding practices at 1 year, even when controlling for length of breast-feeding and the infants' weights at 1 year. Contrary to expectations, depression and eating psychopathology as measured by the SCOFF eating disorder measure during pregnancy or at 6 or 12 months postnatally were not associated with the use of controlling or restrictive feeding practices at 1 year.
These findings indicate that anxious maternal psychopathology may partially explain the development of maternal use of restriction when feeding.
To establish the best predictors of maternal use of controlling feeding practices at 1 and 2 years of age.
A longitudinal study from birth to 2 years.
Sixty-two mothers of 2-year-old children.
Infant weight at birth, 6, 12 and 24 months, breastfeeding history, infant temperament and feeding difficulties at 6 and 12 months, maternal demographics at 12 and 24 months, maternal mental health at 6 and 12 months, maternal controlling feeding practices at 12 and 24 months.
Controlling feeding practices at 1 year were predicted by perceptions of infant temperament at 6 months, birth weight, length of breastfeeding, mental health at 6 months, and mealtime negativity at 6 months. Parental control over feeding when their child reached 2 years was predicted by the mother's tendency to use that particular strategy at 1 year in combination with the perceptions of infant temperament and feeding problems at 1 year, weight at 1 year, length of breastfeeding in infancy, and/or maternal mental health at 1 year.
Breastfeeding appears to promote subsequent monitoring, and is associated with reduced use of pressurising and restrictive feeding practices. Infant characteristics are important predictors of control at both 1 and 2 years of age. The use of controlling feeding practices is relatively stable from 1 to 2 years.
This paper aimed to investigate which parents use which types of parenting control practices to manage their children's diets and to assess the impact of these practices on children's dietary patterns and their BMI. A cross-sectional survey of 518 parents with children aged 4-7 years was carried out in 18 primary schools across the South of England. Measures included aspects of parental control practices and the child's diet. Results showed that older parents with a lower BMI and who were stay at home parents used more "snack overt control", "snack covert control" and "meal covert control" and those with more education used more covert control strategies. In contrast, male, non-white parents with younger children used more "pressure to eat". In terms of the children's diet, the results showed links between parental and child demographics and aspects of unhealthy and healthy food intake. In addition, links were also found for parental control practices. For example, eating more unhealthy snacks was related to less covert control and more pressure to eat, eating fruit and vegetables was related to higher levels of both overt and covert control over meals and less pressure to eat and being neophobic was related to less covert control over meals and more pressure to eat. The children's BMIs were unrelated to any variables measured in the study.
Long term storage of biological material is becoming a critical component of many epidemiological studies. In designing specimen repositories, efforts need to be made to balance future needs for samples with logistical constraints necessary to process and store samples in a timely fashion. The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study was started in 1999 and aims at including 100,000 pregnancies, and will follow mother, father and child for many years to come. The Biobank was faced with the challenge to receive and store over 380,000 biological samples from pregnant women, their partners and their children for up to 100 years. Biological specimens include whole blood, plasma, DNA and urine. The samples are collected at 52 hospitals in all parts of Norway and are mailed to the central Biobank in Oslo for processing and long term storage. As of January 2006, over 200,000 sample sets have been collected and stored at the Biobank. Here we describe the current Biobank structure and present the logistics for sample handling from the drawing of blood in the hospitals till retrieval of samples many years into the future.
In this project, we examined the relationships among child rearing, parental locus of control about child rearing, and the child's behaviour style as perceived by parents. Both father and mother of 120 children (9-12 years old) participated. We discriminated among two types of behaviour styles, externalising (undercontrol of impulses) and internalising behaviour (overcontrol of emotions). Parents who perceived their child as an internaliser or as an externaliser, had a weak internal locus of control. Parents with a weak internal locus of control are more authoritarian, especially when they were more inclined to perceive their child as an internaliser or as an externaliser. Also, the child's behaviour style was related to child rearing. Perceived externalising child behaviour was positively related to authoritarian parental behaviour, especially for parents with a weak internal locus of control. Parents of internalising children were less authoritarian, especially when their locus of control was internal.
The primary aim of this study was to examine whether parent affect and child temperament characteristics differ across feeding styles in low-income families, given suggestive evidence. The secondary aim was to examine whether feeding styles were still related to children's body mass index independent of parent affect, child temperament, and known correlates.
Participants in this study were 718 parents of children attending Head Start programs across two sites (Texas and Alabama). Parents were categorized into feeding styles of authoritative (n = 118), authoritarian (n = 219), indulgent (n = 240) and uninvolved (n = 141) using a parent-report questionnaire characterizing feeding in a general parenting paradigm. Parents completed questionnaires and measured height and weight was obtained from parents and children.
Differences were found across feeding styles on parent affect and child temperament characteristics. Indulgent parents reported lower Negative Affect for themselves and lower Negative Affectivity for their children. The indulgent feeding style was significantly associated with higher child body mass index after controlling for parent affect, child temperament, and correlates (ethnicity, child age, parent body mass index).
The results of this study not only show a robust association between the indulgent feeding style and weight status of low-income preschool children, but also suggest how congruence between parent emotional affect and child temperament characteristics may contribute to excess consumption among children of indulgent parents.
The use of analytic rotation in exploratory factor analysis will be examined. Particular attention will be given to situations where there is a complex factor pattern and standard methods yield poor solutions. Some little known but interesting rotation criteria will be discussed and methods for weighting variables will be examined. Illustrations will be provided using Thurstone's 26 variable box data and other examples.
Study objective: The study of the whole diet in combination rather than the consumption of individual food items or the intake of specific nutrients could be enlightening. This has been previously performed using principal components analysis (PCA) on adult diets but not on those of children.Design: The frequency of consumption of a range of food items was recorded for 10, 139 3-y-old children by their mothers using self-completion postal questionnaires. These children form part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC).Methods: PCA was performed to identify individual dietary types which were then related to various socio-economic and demographic characteristics.Results: Four distinct dietary components were obtained explaining 23.5% of the total variation in the sample, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were related to them. The first represented a diet based on convenience foods and was associated with younger, less educated mothers and the presence of older siblings. The second was associated with a high consumption of foods currently considered to be healthy and was particularly related to vegetarian mothers and higher education levels. The third component described the established British ‘meat and two veg’ diet and was associated with girls and children with no older siblings, while the fourth had high loadings for snack and finger foods and was related to socially advantaged conditions and the presence of older siblings.Conclusions: Identifiable groups of mothers were associated with feeding their child each of the four dietary types, supporting the hypothesis that social, demographic and lifestyle factors relating to the mother have an influence on the early eating patterns of children. This analysis will form a basis for the future study of various childhood outcomes including growth, health and development.Sponsorship: University of BristolEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 73–80
The purpose of this project was to construct an instrument for the assessment of parental locus of control. In Study 1, the scale was constructed and administered to I47parents. Data analyses yielded a five-factor solution with acceptable indices of reliability. The purpose of Study 2 was to establish the construct and discriminant validity of the Parental Locus of Control (PLOC) Scale. The PLOC and seven additional scales assessing related personality constructs were administered to two groups of parents. Group A consisted of 60parents who reported no difficulties in the parenting role; Group B consisted of 45parents who had requested professional services for parenting problems or whose children had been identified as having behavioral/emotional difficulties. Data analyses revealed significant correlations for the majority of the predicted relationships, thereby demonstrating the construct validity of the PLOC. Group B parents scored significantly more external in locus of control than Group A parents, and three of the PLOC subscales were found to significantly differ beetween groups, thereby offering support for the discriminant validity of the PLOC.
Objectives. Obesity has become a global epidemic but our understanding of the problem in children is limited due to lack of comparable representative data from different countries, and varying criteria for defining obesity. This paper summarises the available information on recent trends in child overweight and obesity prevalence. Methods. PubMed was searched for data relating to trends over time, in papers published between January 1980 and October 2005. Additional studies identified by citations in retrieved papers and by consultation with experts were included. Data for trends over time were found for school-age populations in 25 countries and for pre-school populations in 42 countries. Using these reports, and data collected for the World Health Organization's Burden of Disease Program, we estimated the global prevalence of overweight and obesity among school-age children for 2006 and likely prevalence levels for 2010. Results. The prevalence of childhood overweight has increased in almost all countries for which data are available. Exceptions are found among school-age children in Russia and to some extent Poland during the 1990s. Exceptions are also found among infant and pre-school children in some lower-income countries. Obesity and overweight has increased more dramatically in economically developed countries and in urbanized populations. Conclusions. There is a growing global childhood obesity epidemic, with a large variation in secular trends across countries. Effective programs and policies are needed at global, regional and national levels to limit the problem among children.
This study used variable- and person-oriented approaches to examine the relationship between personality traits (at age 33) and parenting (at age 36) among 94 mothers and 78 fathers. The SEM revealed that Openness to Experience (O), low Neuroticism (N), and Extraversion (E) were related to parental nurturance; low O to parental restrictiveness; and low N to parental knowledge about the child's activities. Cluster analysis based on the three parenting factors yielded six gender-related parenting types with distinguishable personality profiles. Authoritative parents (mostly mothers) and emotionally involved parents (mostly fathers), who were high in nurturance and high to moderate in parental knowledge, were high in E and high to moderate in O. Authoritarian parents (mostly fathers) and emotionally detached parents (mostly mothers), who were low in nurturance, high to moderate in restrictiveness, and moderate to low in parental knowledge, were low in O and E. Permissive parents, who were low in restrictiveness and parental knowledge and moderate in nurturance, were high in N, E, and O. Engaged parents, who were high in nurturance, restrictiveness, and parental knowledge, were moderate in all personality traits. Agreeableness and Conscientiousness did not differ between the parenting types. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
This study evaluated the sensitivity of maximum likelihood (ML)-, generalized least squares (GLS)-, and asymptotic distribution-free (ADF)-based fit indices to model misspecification, under conditions that varied sample size and distribution. The effect of violating assumptions of asymptotic robustness theory also was examined. Standardized root-mean-square residual (SRMR) was the most sensitive index to models with misspecified factor covariance(s), and Tucker-Lewis Index (1973; TLI), Bollen's fit index (1989; BL89), relative noncentrality index (RNI), comparative fit index (CFI), and the ML- and GLS-based gamma hat, McDonald's centrality index (1989; Mc), and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) were the most sensitive indices to models with misspecified factor loadings. With ML and GLS methods, we recommend the use of SRMR, supplemented by TLI, BL89, RNI, CFI, gamma hat, Mc, or RMSEA (TLI, Mc, and RMSEA are less preferable at small sample sizes). With the ADF method, we recommend the use of SRMR, supplemented by TLI, BL89, RNI, or CH. Finally, most of the ML-based fit indices outperformed those obtained from GLS and ADF and are preferable for evaluating model fit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
There are few topics so fascinating both to the research investigator and the research subject as the self-image. It is distinctively characteristic of the human animal that he is able to stand outside himself and to describe, judge, and evaluate the person he is. He is at once the observer and the observed, the judge and the judged, the evaluator and the evaluated. Since the self is probably the most important thing in the world to him, the question of what he is like and how he feels about himself engrosses him deeply. This is especially true during the adolescent stage of development.
Early dietary habits are formative for dietary habits later in life. Maternal personality might be an important factor in unhealthy feeding of children. The current study aims to assess the degree to which the personality trait of negative affectivity in mothers predicts their child's diet at age 18 months. This study is a part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study conducted at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. A total of 27 763 mothers completed 3 repeated assessments of negative affectivity before and after childbirth and of the child's diet when the child was 18 months old. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the dietary patterns, and structural equation modeling was used to investigate the relationship with negative affectivity adjusted for socio-demographical variables. Exploratory factor analysis of a foods frequency questionnaire revealed two dietary patterns in the child, labeled unhealthy diet and wholesome diet. The unhealthy diet comprised foods rich in sugar and fat; the wholesome diet comprised foods rich in fibre, vitamins and minerals. Mothers high in negative affectivity were more inclined to feed their child an unhealthy diet. The results were adjusted for maternal age, years of education, relative income, marital status, number of children, having the child in daycare, maternal smoking, maternal body mass index, and child gender. This study shows that a maternal personality trait, negative affectivity, is related to feeding the child an unhealthy diet after controlling for key socio-demographic variables.
To determine the relative effectiveness of two different types of exposure on young children's preference for initially novel foods, 51 two- to five-year-old children received either "look" or "taste" exposures to seven novel fruits. Foods were exposed five, 10 or 15 times, and one food remained novel. Following the exposures, children made two judgments of each of the 21 pairs: one based on looking, the other on tasting the foods. Thurstone Case V scaling solutions were correlated with exposure frequency, and these were significant for the visual judgments of the looked at foods (r = 0.91), the visual judgments of the tasted (and looked at) foods (r = 0.97) and the taste judgments of the tasted foods (r = 0.94). The only non-significant relationship was for the taste judgments of the looked at (but never tasted) foods (r = 0.24). The results indicate that to obtain significant positive changes in preference, experience with the food must include experience in the modality that is relevant for the judgments. While visual experience produced enhanced visual preference judgments, visual experience was not sufficient to produce significantly enhanced taste preferences. This finding is consistent with a "learned safety" interpretation of the exposure effects noted in the taste judgments: experiences with novel tastes that are not followed by negative gastrointestinal consequences can produce enhanced taste preference.
This study evaluated maternal restriction of children's access to snack foods as a predictor of children's intake of those foods when they were made freely available. In addition, child and parent eating-related "risk" factors were used to predict maternal reports of restricting access. Participants were 71, 3-to-5-year-old children (36 boys, 35 girls) and their parents. Children's snack food intake was measured immediately following a meal, in a setting offering free access to palatable snack foods. Child and maternal reports of restricting children's access to those snack foods were obtained. In addition, information on child and parent adiposity as well as parents' restrained and disinhibited eating was used to examine "risk" factors for restricting access. For girls only, child and maternal reports of restricting access predicted girls' snack food intake, with higher levels of restriction predicting higher levels of snack food intake. Maternal restriction, in turn, was predicted by children's adiposity. Additionally, parents' own restrained eating style predicted maternal restriction of girls' access to snack foods.
Restricting children's access to palatable foods may appeal to parents as a straightforward means of promoting moderate intakes of foods high in fat and sugar; however, restricting access to palatable foods may have unintended effects on children's eating. The efficacy of restricting children's access to palatable foods as a means of promoting patterns of moderate intake of those foods is unknown.
Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that restricting access to a palatable food enhances children's subsequent behavioral responses to, selection of, and intake of that restricted food.
Both experiments used a within-subjects design to examine the effects of restricting access to a palatable food on children's subsequent behavior, food selection, and food intake. The first experiment examined the effects of restriction within and outside the restricted context and the second experiment focused on the effects within the restricted context.
In both experiments, restricting access to a palatable food increased children's behavioral response to that food. Experiment 2 showed that restricting access increased children's subsequent selection and intake of that food within the restricted context.
Restricting access focuses children's attention on restricted foods, while increasing their desire to obtain and consume those foods. Restricting children's access to palatable foods is not an effective means of promoting moderate intake of palatable foods and may encourage the intake of foods that should be limited in the diet.
The study of the whole diet in combination rather than the consumption of individual food items or the intake of specific nutrients could be enlightening. This has been previously performed using principal components analysis (PCA) on adult diets but not on those of children.
The frequency of consumption of a range of food items was recorded for 10,139 3-y-old children by their mothers using self-completion postal questionnaires. These children form part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC).
PCA was performed to identify individual dietary types which were then related to various socio-economic and demographic characteristics.
Four distinct dietary components were obtained explaining 23.5% of the total variation in the sample, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were related to them. The first represented a diet based on convenience foods and was associated with younger, less educated mothers and the presence of older siblings. The second was associated with a high consumption of foods currently considered to be healthy and was particularly related to vegetarian mothers and higher education levels. The third component described the established British 'meat and two veg' diet and was associated with girls and children with no older siblings, while the fourth had high loadings for snack and finger foods and was related to socially advantaged conditions and the presence of older siblings.
Identifiable groups of mothers were associated with feeding their child each of the four dietary types, supporting the hypothesis that social, demographic and lifestyle factors relating to the mother have an influence on the early eating patterns of children. This analysis will form a basis for the future study of various childhood outcomes including growth, health and development.
University of Bristol European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 73-80
To evaluate parents' fruit and vegetable intake and their use of pressure to eat in child feeding as predictors of their 5-year-old daughters' fruit and vegetable, micronutrient, and fat intakes.
Data were obtained from 191 non-Hispanic white families with 5-year-old girls.
Parent data included reports of pressure in child feeding and their own fruit and vegetable intake. Girls' intakes of fruits and vegetables, selected micronutrients, and fat were the main outcomes of interest.
Structural equation modeling was used to test a model describing relationships among parents' fruit and vegetable intake, parents' use of pressure in child feeding, and daughters' fruit and vegetable, micronutrient, and fat intakes.
The model provided a good fit to the data, revealing that girls' fruit and vegetable intake was positively related to their parents' reported fruit and vegetable intake. Parents who consumed fewer fruits and vegetables tended to report greater pressure in child feeding and had daughters who consumed fewer fruits and vegetables. Girls' reported fruit and vegetable intakes were positively related to their micronutrient intakes and negatively associated with fat intake.
This research demonstrates that parents' own fruit and vegetable intake may encourage fruit and vegetable intake in their daughters, leading to higher micronutrient intakes and lower dietary fat intakes. Conversely, pressure to eat may discourage fruit and vegetable intake among young girls.
As a rule, children and most adults eat what they like and leave the rest. They like and consume foods high in fat and sugar. Parental behaviour shapes food acceptance, and early exposure to fruit and vegetables or to foods high in energy, sugar and fat is related to children's liking for, and consumption of, these foods. Some parents are imposing child-feeding practices that control what and how much children eat. However, over-control can be counter-productive, teaching children to dislike the very foods we want them to consume, and generally undermining self-regulation abilities. The external environment is also important, with concerns expressed about food advertising to children and girls dieting for an ideal thin body shape. Up to one-quarter of young adolescent girls report dieting to lose weight, their motivation driven by weight and shape dissatisfaction. For some, dieting and vegetarianism are intertwined and both legitimised as healthy eating. For others, striving for nutritional autonomy, the choice of less-healthy foods is not just because of their taste, but an act of parental defiance and peer solidarity. The determinants of what children choose to eat are complex, and the balance changes as children get older. A better understanding is crucial to informing how we might modify nutritional behaviour. Adults occupy a central position in this process, suggesting that children should be neither the only focus of nutritional interventions nor expected to solve the nutritional problems with which adults around them are continuing to fail.
A great number of questionnaires and instruments have been developed in order to measure psychological distress/mental health problems in populations. The Survey of Level of Living in 1998 conducted by Statistics Norway used both Hopkins Symptom Checklist (SCL-25) and the Short Form 36 (SF-36), including the five-item mental health index (MHI-5). Five-item and 10-item versions of the SCL-25 have also been used in Norwegian surveys. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the various instruments, and to assess and to compare psychometric characteristics. A random sample of 9735 subjects over 15 years of age drawn from the Norwegian population received a questionnaire about their health containing SCL-25 and SF-36. Response rate was 71.9%. Reliability of the SCLs and MHI-5 were assessed by Cronbach alpha. The scores from full and abbreviated instruments were compared regarding possible instrument-specific effects of gender, age and level of education. The correlations between the instruments were calculated. The capacity of the various instruments to identify cases was assessed in terms of sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC). The reliabilities were high (Cronbach alpha>0.8). All instruments showed a significant difference in the mean scores for men and women. The correlation between the various versions of SCL ranged from 0.91 to 0.97. The correlation between the MHI-5 and the SCLs ranged from -0.76 to -0.78. The prevalence rate was 11.1% for SCL-25 scores above 1.75 and 9.7% for scores below 56 in MHI-5. AUC values indicated good screening accordance between the measures (AUC>0.92). The results suggest that the shorter versions of SCL perform almost as well as the full version. The corresponding cut-off points to the conventional 1.75 for SCL-25 are 1.85 for SCL-10 and 2.0 for SCL-5. MHI-5 correlates highly with the SCL and the AUC indicate that the instruments might replace each other in population surveys, at least when considering depression. An operational advantage of the MHI-5 over the SCL instruments is that it has been widely used not only in surveys of mental health, but also in surveys of general health.
This research tested the associations between caregiver feeding styles and children's food consumption patterns among African-American (AA) and Hispanic (H) caregivers and their preschool children. Participants were 231 caregivers (101 AA; 130 H) with children enrolled in Head Start. Caregivers completed questionnaires on authoritarian and authoritative feeding styles (Caregiver's Feeding Styles Questionnaire; CFSQ) and various aspects of children's food consumption patterns (availability of, feeding attempts for, and child's consumption of dairy, fruit, and vegetables). Simultaneous multiple regression analyses tested the unique contribution of feeding styles in predicting food consumption patterns. Authoritative feeding was positively associated whereas authoritarian feeding was negatively associated with the availability of fruit and vegetables. Authoritative feeding was also positively associated with attempts to get the child to eat dairy, fruit, and vegetables, and reported child consumption of dairy and vegetables. Authoritarian feeding was negatively associated with child's vegetable consumption. All results remained significant after controlling for child's gender and body mass index (BMI), and caregiver's ethnicity, BMI, and level of education. Overall, results provide evidence for the benefits of authoritative feeding and suggest that interventions to increase children's consumption of dairy, fruit, and vegetables should be targeted toward increasing caregivers' authoritative feeding behaviors.
The existing literature on parental control and children's diets is confusing. The present paper reports two studies to explore an expanded conceptualisation of parental control with a focus on overt control which 'can be detected by the child' and covert control which 'cannot be detected by the child'. In study 1, 297 parents of children aged between 4 and 11 completed a measure of overt control and covert control alongside ratings of their child's snacking behaviour as a means to assess who uses either overt or covert control and how these aspects of parental control relate to a child's snacking behaviour. The results showed that lighter parents and those with children perceived as heavier were more likely to use covert control and those from a higher social class were more likely to use overt control. Further, whilst greater covert control predicted a decreased intake of unhealthy snacks, greater overt control predicted an increased intake of healthy snacks. In study 2, 61 parents completed the same measure of overt and covert control alongside the three control subscales of the Child Feeding Questionnaire [Birch, L.L., Fisher, J.O., Grimm-Thomas, Markey, C.N., Sawyer, R. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Feeding Questionnaire: A measure of parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness. Appetite, 36, 201-210] to assess degrees of overlap between these measures. The results showed that although these five measures of control were all positively correlated, the correlations between the new and existing measures indicated a maximum of 21% shared variance suggesting that covert and overt control are conceptually and statistically separate from existing measures of control. To conclude, overt and covert control may be a useful expansion of existing ways to measure and conceptualise parental control. Further, these constructs may differentially relate to snacking behaviour which may help to explain some of the confusion in the literature.
To assess the degree to which mothers' prepartum personality traits predict breastfeeding status at 6 months postpartum.
This prospective cohort study is part of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, conducted at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. A total of 27,753 mothers completed assessment of negative affectivity (NA) and general self-efficacy (GSE) at gestation weeks 17 and 30 and completed a questionnaire about infant feeding at 6 months postpartum. Feeding status was classified with a cutoff at 6 months in the categories of predominant breastfeeding, mixed breastfeeding, and bottle-feeding.
After adjusting for maternal smoking, age, education, cesarean section, preterm birth, primiparity, and external daycare, NA increased the odds of mixed breastfeeding (odds ratio [OR], 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.32) and bottle feeding (OR, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.53) compared with predominant breastfeeding. GSE decreased the odds of bottle feeding (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.84 to 0.97) but not of mixed breastfeeding (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.92 to 1.04) compared with predominant breastfeeding. The adjusting variables were also predictors of breastfeeding behavior in their own right.
Our results show that NA and GSE are important antenatal predictors of breastfeeding status at 6 months postpartum.
Temperament: a new paradigm for trait psychology
- L A Clark
- D Watson
Clark L.A. & Watson D. (1999) 'Temperament: a new
paradigm for trait psychology,'. In Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (eds L.A. Pervin & O.P.
John), 2nd edn, pp. 399-423. Guilford Press: New York.
Society and the adolescent self-image, Rev Measuring the mental health status of the Nor-wegian population: a comparison of the instruments SCL-25, SCL-10, SCL-5 and MHI-5 (SF-36)
- Rosenberg M Middletown
- Ct Strand
- B H Dalgard
Rosenberg M. (1989) Society and the adolescent self-image, Rev. Wesleyan University Press: Middletown, CT. Strand B.H., Dalgard O.S., Tambs K. & Rognerud M. (2003) Measuring the mental health status of the Nor-wegian population: a comparison of the instruments SCL-25, SCL-10, SCL-5 and MHI-5 (SF-36). Nordic Journal of Psychiatry 57, 113–118.
Worldwide trends in childhood overweight and obesity
- Wang
Predictors of maternal control of feeding at 1 and 2 years of age
- Blissett