Caregivers’ Behavioral Skills Associated with Preschool Children Consumption of Sugar‐Sweetened Beverages (SSBs)

Study tested hypothesis that caregivers with greater behavioral skills (BS) to limit consumption of SSBs would report their children consume fewer SSBs. Caregivers of 3–5 y old children (n=462) provided demographics, a home inventory of beverages including child daily consumption of SSBs, and an Information‐Motivation‐Behavioral Skills (IMB) measure of child consumption of SSBs (IMB‐mCSSBs). BS, a component of the IMB model, was based on 10 items of the IMB‐mCSSBs measure. Chi‐square analyses tested association of BS tertiles (High: greater BS) with child's daily total ounces consumed of SSBs (flavored milk, fluid and powdered juice drinks (JD), iced tea, energy drinks, soda), and with JD alone. Mean total child consumption of SSBs was10.4±15.01 oz/day. By BS tertiles, 29% of caregivers in the low tertile, vs.19% and 18% in the middle and high tertiles respectively, allowed their child to drink >;16oz/day of SSBs ( P <.05). For consumption of juice drinks specifically, the same pattern emerged. Age was related to BS grouping, with older caregivers more represented in the high BS group vs. low BS group (37% aged 45–54 in high BS group vs. 25% in low). Being an African‐American caregiver was associated with higher child consumption of total SSBs and JD. Children consumed less SSBs when their caregivers have greater skills and efficacy to manage consumption of these beverages. Funding: USDA/NRI 2008–55215‐19071