Premium
Relation between parenting style and child weight
Author(s) -
Rutledge Julie M.,
Topham Glade L.,
Kennedy Tay S.,
Page Melanie C.,
HubbsTait Laura,
Harrist Amanda W.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a160-a
Subject(s) - overweight , permissive , psychosocial , parenting styles , obesity , psychology , demography , medicine , developmental psychology , pediatrics , psychiatry , endocrinology , virology , sociology
The effects of overweight on children's lives can be both physical and psychosocial. The purpose of this study was to research the possible relation between parenting style and child overweight. This study examined a subsample ( n =255, x̄ age = 7) of the participants in the USDA Families and Schools for Health project ( n =600). For the child participants, 12% can be described as overweight (≥ 95% BMI‐for‐age) and 23% as at‐risk (≥ 85% BMI‐for‐age). 20% of Native American children were overweight compared to 8% of non‐Hispanic white children. The 32‐item Parenting Practices Questionnaire, which assesses 3 global parenting styles, was used. There was a significant difference (p<.05) in permissive parenting between at‐risk and not at‐risk children and a marginally significant difference (p<.09) between overweight and not overweight children. In both cases, the mothers were more permissive for the overweight and at‐risk children. There was a marginally significant difference (p<.07) in authoritarian parenting between not overweight and overweight children. The mothers of overweight children were less authoritarian . These data suggest that there is a relation between parenting style and child overweight. [Families and Schools for Health funded by USDA‐CSREES Grant No. 05545 and further funding for Julie M. Rutledge provided by the R. Bynum Smith OSU Foundation Distinguished Graduate Fellowship]