Family is a major determinant of children’s and adolescents’ eating behavior. The objectives of the present study were to assess diet quality, eating habits, satisfaction with life, family life, and food-related life in mother–father–adolescent triads, and to identify profiles of families according to family members’ diet quality. Questionnaires were administered to a sample of 300 two-parent families with one child over the age of 10 in the city of Temuco (Chile), including the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life (SWFoL) scale, Satisfaction with Family Life (SWFaL) scales, and questions relating to their eating habits. Positive relationships were found between the diet quality of the family members, particularly between mothers and adolescents. Three family profiles with different diet qualities were identified: “families with an unhealthy diet” (39.3%), “families in which mothers and adolescents have healthy diets, but the fathers’ diets require changes” (14.3%), and “families that require changes in their diet” (46.4%). These findings stress the key role of mothers in determining family diet quality and suggest a positive relationship between diet quality and satisfaction with life.
Life satisfaction and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL) are associated with healthy eating habits, family interaction around eating and family support. The present study evaluates the relationship between SWFoL and satisfaction with family life (SWFaL), and their relationship with life satisfaction in university students. We identify the relationship of two different types of family support and student SWFaL and explore a moderator effect of gender. A questionnaire was applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 370 students of both genders (mean age 21 years) in Chile, including Satisfaction with Life Scale, SWFoL scale, SWFaL scale, and the Family Resources Scale. Using structural equation modeling, we found that students’ life satisfaction was related to SWFaL and food-related life. A high positive relationship was identified between intangible family support and students’ SWFaL, which would have a mediating role between intangible support and life satisfaction. Using multi-group analysis, a moderator effect of gender was not found. These findings suggest that improving SWFoL, SWFaL and intangible family support is important for both female and male students.
Results indicated that maternal well-being increased with an increased frequency of shared mealtime. Significantly, in contrast to the findings of previous studies, greater control over child eating habits was shown to affect adolescent well-being positively. These findings, among others, may contribute to the development of strategies for improving diet quality, overall well-being, and well-being in the food and family domains for all family members.
This study explored the associations between family support and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life. It also assessed the associations between both parents’ work-life balance and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life among adolescent children from dual-earner families. Questionnaires were administered to 303 dual-earner families with one child between 10 and 17 years in Temuco, Chile. Adolescents answered the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale (SWFoL), Satisfaction with Family Life scale (SWFaL) and the Family subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Both parents answered the Work-life Balance (WLB) scale. Using structural equation modelling and having controlled for adolescents’ gender, age and socioeconomic status, we confirmed that adolescent life satisfaction is associated with satisfaction with family life and food-related life. Food-related life satisfaction and family life satisfaction had complete mediating roles between perceived family support and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Satisfaction with food-related life also had a complete mediating role between both parents’ WLB and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Satisfaction with family life had a complete mediating role between mothers’ WLB and adolescents’ life satisfaction. In addition, mothers’ WLB was positively associated with perceived family support among adolescents. These findings suggest the need to improve family support and work-life balance among mothers in order to enhance adolescents’ satisfaction with different domains of life in dual-earner families.
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