Food Parenting Measurement Issues: Working Group Consensus Report

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a growing problem. As more researchers become involved in the study of parenting influences on childhood obesity, there appears to be a lack of agreement regarding the most important parenting constructs of interest, definitions of those constructs, and measurement of those constructs in a consistent manner across studies. This article aims to summarize findings from a working group that convened specifically to discuss measurement issues related to parental influences on childhood obesity. Six subgroups were formed to address key measurement issues. The conceptualization subgroup proposed to define and distinguish constructs of general parenting styles, feeding styles, and food parenting practices with the goal of understanding interrelating levels of parental influence on child eating behaviors. The observational subgroup identified the need to map constructs for use in coding direct observations and create observational measures that can capture the bidirectional effects of parent-child interactions. The selfregulation subgroup proposed an operational definition of child self-regulation of energy intake and suggested future measures of self-regulation across different stages of development. The translational/community involvement subgroup proposed the involvement of community in the development of surveys so that measures adequately reflect cultural understanding and practices of the community. The qualitative methods subgroup proposed qualitative methods as a way to better understand the breadth of food parenting practices and motivations for the use of such practices. The longitudinal subgroup stressed the importance of food parenting measures sensitive to change for use in longitudinal studies. In the creation of new measures, it is important to consider cultural sensitivity and context-specific food parenting domains. Moderating variables such as child temperament and child food preferences should be considered in models.

General and Food-Specific Parenting: Measures and Interplay

“…To date, this has led to the systematic development of the Comprehensive General Parenting Questionnaire 87 to comprehensively assess general parenting and a Delphi study addressing the full scope of food parenting practices. Other issues that need to be taken into account in future studies are the conceptualization of feeding styles, 8 the role of parental self-efficacy in relation to styles and practices, 88 potential relevance of similarity in parenting between parents, 21 the use of longitudinal and experimental research designs, as well as the translation of observational research results in health promotion interventions targeted at parents. 89,90 It must be realized that parenting does not occur in isolation.…”

“…[6][7][8] The aim of this article is not to provide consensus in these areas, but to provide insights into contents and explanatory value of instruments that have been applied to assess parenting style, feeding style, and food parenting practices. In contrast to most papers in this field, which tend to be primarily devoted to proximal parenting practices, 9,10 this article puts an emphasis on the more distal parenting dimensions (i.e., feeding styles and parenting styles).…”

Stimulating Innovations in the Measurement of Parenting Constructs

“…This article is part of a larger supplement on this topic, and recommendations for the field are published in other articles that are part of this supplement. [20][21][22][23] The extent to which certain areas might be more worthwhile to explore than others remains unknown. To help researchers move the field forward in each of the areas discussed, Table 1 lists strategies that may be employed or studies that may be conducted to address each of the areas brought forward in this article.…”

“…This article aims to stimulate innovations in the measurement of parenting by briefly discussing approaches that may be used; however, those interested in recommendations for the field should consult other articles published within this supplement. [20][21][22][23] Potential Solutions for Improving Parenting Assessment…”

Food-related parenting: issues and challenges

“…Recent commentaries have called for consistency (2) . Parenting practices refer to specific behaviours, strategies and techniques parents use to influence specific behaviours in their children (2) , with the most commonly examined practices related to child feeding defined as restriction, monitoring and pressure to eat (13) .…”