Latino adolescent-father discrepancies in reporting activity parenting practices and associations with adolescents' physical activity and screen time

Experiences, Perspectives, and Barriers to Physical Activity Parenting Practices for Chinese Early Adolescents

BACKGROUND

Parents play an important role in shaping youth's lifestyle behaviors. This study aimed to investigate physical activity parenting practices (PAPP) for Chinese early adolescents and compare reporting discrepancies between parents and adolescent boys and girls.

METHODS

Fifty-five adolescent-parent dyads participated in 16 paired focus group interviews, and an additional 122 dyads completed questionnaire surveys with open-ended questions. Participants were recruited from 3 public middle schools in Suzhou, China. Qualitative data were analyzed inductively using an open-coding scheme. Frequencies of codes were compared by parent-child role and adolescent gender using chi-square tests.

RESULTS

Eighteen types of PAPP were identified and grouped into 6 categories: goals/control, structure, parental physical activity participation, communication, support, and discipline. These PAPP were viewed as promotive, preventive, or ineffective. Participants had mixed opinions on the effects of 11 PAPP and identified parental, adolescent, and environmental barriers for parents to promote youth physical activity. Compared with parents, adolescents were more likely to value the effects of setting expectation, scheduling, and coparticipation as well as dislike pressuring, restriction, and punishment. Girls were more likely to favor coparticipation and were more sensitive about negative communication than boys. Parents paid more attention to environmental barriers, whereas adolescents, especially girls, focused more on personal issues.

CONCLUSIONS

Future studies need to address both positive and negative PAPP as well as perception discrepancies by child-parent role and adolescent gender to generate more evidence to promote parents as favorable socialization agents of youth physical activity.

Longitudinal Association of Changes in Parental Correlates With Screen Time in Chinese Preschoolers

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to explore the relationship between the changes in parent-related factors and preschoolers exceeding screen time (ST) recommendations.

METHODS

A longitudinal analysis using 2-year follow-up data from 4 kindergartens (n = 409) was conducted in Zhejiang, China, from 2019 to 2021. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the potential parental modifiable predictors.

RESULTS

The significant associations of baseline ST, change in screen accessibility, and the interaction of preschooler ST with maternal ST change with preschooler follow-up ST were observed. For preschool-aged children with baseline ST ≤ 1 hour per day, the follow-up of preschoolers with ST > 1 hour per day increased significantly when parental clarity of their ST rules decreased or remained low. For preschool children with baseline ST > 1 hour per day, follow-up ST increased significantly when their father kept ST >2 hours per day, when the screen accessibility became or remained easy, or when parental awareness of the ST decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Changes in parental correlates played an important role in preschooler ST based on 2-year longitudinal data. Early interventions should focus on improving the clarity of parental rules and perceptions, as well as on reducing parental ST and accessibility of home screens.

Influence of paternal general parenting on Latino early adolescents' energy balance-related behaviours and interactions with behaviour-specific parenting practices

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the influence of general parenting dimensions on adolescents' energy balance-related behaviours (EBRB) and its interactions with behaviour-specific parenting practices based on Darling and Steinberg's contextual model of parenting style.

DESIGN

Multiple linear regression analyses and the Hayes PROCESS procedure to analyse self-reported cross-sectional survey data.

SETTING

In-person survey.

PARTICIPANTS

Latino early adolescents and their fathers (n 225 dyads) recruited using convenience sampling from metropolitan areas of north-central USA.

RESULTS

Both paternal parenting dimensions of warmth and autonomy granting were positively associated with adolescents' fruit intake, vegetable intake and physical activity. Coercive control was positively associated with adolescents' sugary drink intake and sweets/salty snack intake. These associations were predominantly mediated by the parenting practices of setting expectations/allowances, role modelling, and managing availability and accessibility for corresponding EBRB. After adjusting for parenting practices, paternal warmth was inversely associated with adolescents' screen time, paternal autonomy was positively associated with sugary drink intake, and both paternal warmth and autonomy granting were positively associated with adolescents' fast food intake. In addition, positive associations between fathers' parenting practices and adolescents' sugary drink intake were significantly stronger among those who perceived high v. low levels of paternal warmth and autonomy granting.

CONCLUSIONS

Paternal warmth and autonomy granting showed mixed effects on adolescents' EBRB, and coercive control showed undesirable relationships with adolescents' dietary intake via interactions with behaviour-specific parenting practices. Lifestyle intervention programmes for Latino adolescents need to consider incorporating paternal parenting education components.

Rural Midwestern Mexican Fathers' Perspectives on Family Food, Mealtimes, and Physical Activity

Two focus group interviews with eight low-income Mexican fathers in two communities in a rural Midwestern state explored fathers' perceptions, behaviors, and roles related to child and family food consumption, mealtimes, and physical activity. On average, fathers were 34 years of age, had 10 years of formal education, and annual household incomes ranged from $36,250 to $46,249. Findings include the identification of fifteen themes through the process of thematic analysis that are organized by five thematic areas of interest (family food patterns, strategies for healthy eating, family roles in food shopping and preparation, family mealtimes, physical activity among families). Findings revealed ways fathers contributed to their children's and families' health and well-being, and challenges they faced. Health promotion efforts aimed at rural, low-income Mexican immigrant families can benefit from embracing fathers' perspectives and how they influence the health and well-being of their children and families.