Brief parental self-efficacy scales for promoting healthy eating and physical activity in children: a validation study

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and sleep knowledge and self-efficacy among parents of young children in Canada

Background

Engaging in healthy movement behaviours in early childhood is beneficial for children's development, and parents play a critical role in shaping movement habits during these formative years. This study aimed to explore parents' knowledge of the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years (The Guidelines) and their perceived knowledge and self-efficacy of movement behaviour concepts in early childhood. The influence of sociodemographic characteristics on these variables was also examined.

Methods

Via a cross-sectional online survey with parents/guardians (n = 576) of young children in Canada, participants' knowledge of The Guidelines (11 items), and perceived knowledge (11 items; 5-point scale) and self-efficacy (11 items; 11-point scale) of movement behaviour concepts in early childhood were examined. Descriptive statistics were calculated for independent variables and multivariate regression models were estimated to examine sociodemographic factors that were associated with participants' knowledge and self-efficacy.

Results

Few participants (11.9%) reported to be familiar with The Guidelines. Parents were most knowledgeable about the screen time guideline for children under 2 years (75.0% correctly identified the guideline) and least familiar with the recommendation for toddler/preschooler total physical activity (14.7% correctly identified the guideline). Parents/guardians perceived they were the most knowledgeable about safe sleep practices (65.9% very/extremely knowledgeable) and least knowledgeable about muscle- and bone-strengthening activities (71.8% not at all/somewhat knowledgeable). Overall, parents/guardians were moderately confident in promoting healthy movement behaviours (M = 6.01; SD = 1.73). Participants with higher levels of education reported significantly higher perceived knowledge compared to those who were less educated (p = .004), and parents/guardians identifying as White reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy compared to parents/guardians from minority ethnic groups (p = .028). Finally, parents/guardians who were more physically active reported both higher perceived knowledge (p < .001) and self-efficacy (p < .001) than those who were less active.

Conclusion

These findings shed light on the need to raise awareness of The Guidelines among parents of young children and highlight specific movement behaviour concepts in need of focus in future training for this population. Targeted education for parents/guardians from lower socioeconomic groups is also needed to address equity concerns.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s44167-024-00051-x.

Evaluation instruments for executive functions in children and adolescents: an update of a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study is to update a systematic review of instruments for evaluating the executive functions (EFs) in a pediatric population to assess their measurement properties.

AREA COVERED

Studies describing evaluation tools of EFs were systematically searched on four electronic databases: PubMed, EBSCO, Scopus, and Web of Science. To be included studies had to be on a population aged 0 to 18 were included. The individuals were either healthy or presented a neurodevelopment disorder. Risk of Bias was evaluated through the Consensus-based Standards to select the health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN).

EXPERT OPINION

The search was conducted on April 2023. Eighty-four papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study; the studies refer to 72 different evaluation tools of EFs. Most of the studies analyzed through a methodological quality analysis received an 'adequate' score. The instrument most mentioned was the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-2 (BRIEF2) in seven articles.

Fathers' perceived role, self-efficacy and support needs in promoting positive nutrition and physical activity in the first 2000 days of life: a mixed methods study

BACKGROUND

The first 2000 days of life are a crucial and opportunistic time to promote positive dietary and physical activity behaviours that can continue throughout life. The bulk of research on the impact of parents promoting positive dietary and physical activity behaviours has been on mothers, with the impact of fathers rarely investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate fathers' perceived role, self-efficacy and support needs in promoting positive dietary and physical activity behaviours in early childhood.

METHODS

A sequential explanatory mixed methods study design consisted of a cross sectional survey of Australian fathers (n = 200) from a convenience sample, followed by semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 21) with a purposeful sample of Australian fathers.

RESULTS

Quantitative survey data revealed that more than 90.0% of fathers agreed that it is important to role model healthy eating and participating in physical activity with their babies, toddlers and children. A majority of fathers were confident in getting their child to eat fruit/ vegetables (90%) and playing with their child (80%). When searching for information about nutrition and physical activity, the highest proportion of fathers nominated online sources (52%) as their preferred source in survey data. Qualitative interview data revealed that while fathers exhibited high self-efficacy in their abilities, this was susceptible to deterioration due to feelings of isolation, pressures of fatherhood, a lack of information and resources that are father specific, and difficulties navigating the different types of information/resources to find what is right for them.

CONCLUSIONS

Although possessing self-efficacy, being committed and seeking knowledge, many fathers found that useful information was hard to find and understand. Appropriate resources are therefore required to support the specific needs of fathers to promote positive dietary and physical activity behaviours in their infants and young children.

Parental Self-Efficacy and Child Diet Quality between Ages 2 and 5: The STEPS Study

Parental self-efficacy (PSE), a measure of the subjective competence in the parental role, has been linked with child well-being and health. Research on the influence of PSE on child eating habits is scarce, and the few studies have concentrated on certain food groups, such as vegetables or fruits, and have mostly included only maternal PSE. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the associations between PSE (separately for mothers and fathers and as a total family-level score) and child diet quality in a cross-sectional and longitudinal study setting. PSE was measured at child ages of 1.5 and 5 years, and diet quality was measured at ages 2 and 5. Participants are from the Steps to Healthy Development (STEPS) Study (n = 270-883). We found that maternal PSE and family level PSE score were associated with child diet quality. Paternal PSE was not, but the dimension Routines was associated with child diet quality. PSE was similarly associated with child diet quality at both age points. Our results suggest that PSE is an important construct in the development of healthy dietary habits in children, and supporting parenting programs aimed at higher PSE could promote healthy diet quality in children.

Parental Self-Efficacy-A Predictor of Children's Health Behaviors? Its Impact on Children's Physical Activity and Screen Media Use and Potential Interaction Effect Within a Health Promotion Program

Insufficient physical activity (PA) and increased screen media use (SMU) can have detrimental effects on children's health. Parental self-efficacy (PSE) can act as an important predictor for a healthy upbringing. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of PSE on children's PA and SMU. Additionally, a moderating effect of PSE on the intervention effect of the health promotion program “Join the Healthy Boat” was examined. Using a prospective randomized controlled trial, 558 kindergarten children (3.6 years [SD = 0.6]) were examined. Data was collected using parental self-report. A significant influence of PSE on children's PA (B = 0.33, p = 0.025) and children's SMU (B = 0.42, p = 0.006) was found. The moderating effect of PSE on the intervention effect was neither significantly related to children's PA (p = 0.360) nor to children's SMU (p = 0.531). This confirms the importance of PSE on children's health development. Despite the lack of a moderating effect, interventions should also promote healthy activity behaviors and self-efficacy for parents in order to engage children in a healthy lifestyle.