Theoretical Underpinnings of Reducing the Media’s Negative Effect on Children: Person-Centered, Negatively-Valenced Evaluative Mediation within a Persuasion Framework

Promoting Healthier Eating via Parental Communication: Development and Validation of the Active and Restrictive Parental Guidance Questionnaire (PARQ)

Parents are important sources of influence in the development of healthy eating among children and adolescents. Besides gatekeeping and modeling, parents serve as health educators and promoters, using intentional and persuasive communication to encourage healthier eating preferences and behaviors in children. Despite this, a lack of reliable and valid measures has limited the research on how parent-driven interpersonal communication about foods influence child food consumption outcomes. Building on the research in parental mediation of media consumption, and parenting practices in public health nutrition, this study details the development and validation of the active and restrictive parental guidance questionnaire with a sample of 246 children and adolescents at the scale development phase and another sample of 1,113 children and adolescents at the scale validation phase. Findings show that parents employ four communicative strategies to encourage a healthier diet: active guidance, general discussion, preventive restrictive guidance, and promotive restrictive guidance. The new measure was shown to have good validity and measurement model fit. Implications for future research are discussed.

From a mother's point of view: Psycho-social predictors of maternal monitoring strategy and adolescents' electronic media use

INTRODUCTION

As early adolescents have limited capacities for self-regulating electronic media use (EMU), parental monitoring is needed. However, research has shown that parents do not exert much monitoring over their children's EMU. A theory-based approach may help to identify key predictors of parental monitoring and its effects on adolescents' EMU. Applying the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA), this study examined maternal psycho-social predictors of maternal monitoring of EMU and, subsequently, children's EMU.

METHODS

In Switzerland, 105 mother-adolescent dyads participated in an observational study with two time points (baseline, T1, and follow-up, T2) two weeks apart. Mothers (M_age = 43.83 years, SD = 4.45) reported on their HAPA variables and their children's EMU. Adolescents (M_age = 12.13 years, SD = 0.99; 60 girls and 45 boys) also reported their EMU.

RESULTS

Maternal outcome expectancies (T1) for less EMU were positively related (β = 0.25) with their intention to monitor EMU (T1). Further, intention was positively associated (β = 0.45) with planning to monitor EMU (T1) which in turn predicted marginally (β = 0.18) maternal monitoring (T2). No significant associations were found between maternal monitoring (T2) and adolescents' EMU (T2) reported by mothers and adolescents.

CONCLUSIONS

Contrary to hypotheses derived from the HAPA, findings demonstrate that not all the HAPA variables are linked to maternal monitoring of adolescents' EMU. More research is thus needed to identify antecedents and consequences of different strategies of maternal monitoring.