Psychometric properties of the Parental Feeding Behaviours Questionnaire for Indonesian parents of young children

"Associations between maternal perceptions of social support and adolescent weight status: A longitudinal analysis"

Social support is a well-established predictor of improved physical health outcomes among adults. Establishing whether maternal social support may have an inter-generational positive impact on their child's physical health will provide important information for developing potential interventions and policies. Elevated body mass index (BMI) is one indicator of child health that is linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease and other morbidities later in life. There is some evidence that maternal social support is associated with improved child and adolescent weight status; however, no studies have examined whether specific aspects of social support are more impactful than others or whether support availability is differentially impactful across developmental stages. The present study examined whether maternal perceptions of specific types of social support (i.e., financial support, non-monetary instrumental support, partner emotional support, and having a close supportive contact) were associated with lower adolescent BMI z-scores using longitudinal data collected over a 15-year period from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 3146), which includes a high proportion of families experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. Findings from linear regression models using specific types of social support measured across six waves of data collected over a 15-year period indicated that maternal perceptions of greater financial support were associated with lower adolescent BMI z-scores at 15 years (B = -0.05, 95% CI: -0.10, -0.004, P = 0.04), while the other types of support were not. Additional timing analyses demonstrated that perceived financial support during late childhood to adolescence was associated with lower adolescent BMI z-scores (B = -0.06, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.01, P = 0.01), whereas associations between support during infancy and early childhood were not detected. Study findings provide important insights for developing interventions and policies that improve maternal social supports to benefit child health.

The Obesity Parenting Intervention Scale: Factorial Validity and Invariance Among Head Start Parents

INTRODUCTION

Obesity affects 15.7% of U.S. preschoolers, with higher rates among low-income and Spanish-speaking populations. Food, physical activity, and sleep parenting practices, referred to collectively as obesity-related parenting practices, are linked with children's risk of obesity and are a common target in family-based obesity interventions. Yet, there is no brief, validated measure of obesity-related parenting practices that is appropriate for use in intervention studies and for diverse audiences. This study tests the factorial validity of a brief measure of obesity-related parenting and measurement invariance of the English and Spanish versions of the scale, as well as among mothers and fathers.

METHODS

Parents of children enrolled in Head Start (n=578; 500 mothers and 78 fathers) completed a brief survey of food (7 items), physical activity (5 items), and sleep parenting (3 items) in fall of 2017 and 2018. Scale items were drawn from existing measures and the evidence base, initially drafted in English, and then translated to Spanish. One parent per family completed the scale independently in English (n=448) or Spanish (n=130). A confirmatory factor analysis framework was adopted to test a 3-factor model for the total sample. Multi-group structural equation modeling was used to assess measurement invariance of the scale by the language of administration (English or Spanish) and among mothers and fathers separately.

RESULTS

Results supported a 3-factor model of obesity parenting with a single factor each for food, physical activity, and sleep parenting. There was statistically significant measurement invariance across all groups (p<0.05). Internal consistency was adequate across factors (α=0.65-0.80).

CONCLUSIONS

This brief obesity-parenting scale demonstrates adequate factorial validity in English and Spanish and among mothers and fathers. This measure has been integrated into an intervention, and future work will test sensitivity to change.