Family identity construction: an interpretation of the Lunar New Year's Eve dinner consumption ritual

PurposeFamily dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve is the most important and most ritualized feast for families in China. It is the time for the entire family to reunite. Families gather together to reflect their past and talk about the future. Through the lens of consumer culture theories, this study explores how Chinese consumers construct family identity.Design/methodology/approachBased on constant comparative analysis of primary data including in-depth interviews and participant observation, and secondary data including historical archives, cultural tracing, documentary reports and essays, the authors deconstruct the consumption rituals of family dinner on Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve. The authors focus on four aspects, including participants, place, time and related activities, and analyze Chinese consumers' ritual experiences.FindingsThe authors’ findings show how young consumers construct and strengthen individual self-identity, relational identity and family identity in various ways through consumption and ritual practices during Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.Originality/valueThe study of family dinner on Lunar New Year's Eve helps the authors understand contemporary consumer culture in three aspects. First, it helps the authors understand the relationship between consumption and culture. Second, the study shows the changes and continuities of consumption rituals. Third, the research highlights the experience of “home” among contemporary Chinese consumers.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak during a Chinese New Year dinner in a restaurant, Hong Kong SAR (China), 2020

We reported a local family cluster of 6 confirmed COVID-19 cases, among 29 attendees of a Chinese New Year family dinner gathering in a restaurant, with 1 additional case from secondary transmission. The public should maintain social distancing at all times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Association Between Electronic Device Use During Family Time and Family Well-Being: Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background Electronic devices (eDevices) may have positive or negative influences on family communication and well-being depending on how they are used. Objective We examined eDevice use during family time and its association with the quality of family communication and well-being in Hong Kong Chinese adults. Methods In 2017, a probability-based 2-stage random sampling landline telephone survey collected data on eDevice use in daily life and during family time (eg, family dinner) and the presence of rules banning eDevice use during family dinner. Family communication quality was rated from 0 to 10 with higher scores being favorable. Family well-being was calculated as a composite mean score of 3 items each using the same scale from 0 to 10. The associations of family communication quality and well-being with eDevice use in daily life and during family time were estimated using beta-coefficient (β) adjusting for sociodemographics. The mediating role of family communication quality in the association between eDevice use and family well-being was analyzed. Results Of the 2064 respondents (mean age 56.4 [SD 19.2] years, 1269/2064 [61.48%] female), 1579/2059 (76.69%) used an eDevice daily for a mean of 3.6 hours (SD 0.1) and 257/686 (37.5%) used it for 30+ minutes before sleep. As much as 794/2046 (38.81%) often or sometimes used an eDevice during family time including dinner (311/2017, 15.42%); 713/2012 (35.44%) reported use of an eDevice by family members during dinner. Lower family communication quality was associated with hours of eDevice use before sleep (adjusted β=–.25; 95% CI –0.44 to –0.05), and often use (vs never use) of eDevice during family dinner by oneself (adjusted β=–.51; 95% CI –0.91 to –0.10) and family members (adjusted β=–.54; 95% CI –0.79 to –0.29). Similarly, lower family well-being was associated with eDevice use before sleep (adjusted β=–.26; 95% CI –0.42 to –0.09), and often use during family dinner by oneself (adjusted β=–.48; 95% CI –0.83 to –0.12) and family members (adjusted β=–.50; 95% CI –0.72 to –0.28). Total ban of eDevice use during family dinner was negatively associated with often use by oneself (adjusted odds ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.85) and family members (adjusted odds ratio 0.41; 95% CI 0.28, 0.60) but not with family communication and well-being. Lower family communication quality substantially mediated the total effect of the association of eDevice use time before sleep (61.2%) and often use at family dinner by oneself (87.0%) and by family members (67.8%) with family well-being. Conclusions eDevice use before sleep and during family dinner was associated with lower family well-being, and the association was substantially mediated by family communication quality. Our results suggest that interventions on smart use of eDevice may improve family communication and well-being.

Days Needed to Characterize the Healthfulness of a Typical Dinner Meal in Direct Observational Research: Mixed Methods Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Prior research around the home meal environment has demonstrated that family meals are associated with positive health outcomes for children and adolescents. Researchers have begun using direct observational methods to understand key aspects of family meals such as meal healthfulness and family meal frequency to explain the protective nature of family meals. Direct observational research, however, can be resource intensive and also burdensome for participants. Information about the number of days needed to sufficiently characterize typical meal healthfulness using direct observational research methods is needed. OBJECTIVE The current study aimed to produce guidance about the number of meals necessary to approximate typical meal healthfulness at the family dinner meal occasion in a direct observational, mixed methods study of the home food environment. METHODS Families were recruited between 2012-2013 from primary care clinics in the Minneapolis–St Paul metropolitan area (N=120). A total of 800 meals were collected as part of the Family Meals LIVE! mixed methods study. The Healthfulness of Meal Index was used to evaluate meal dietary healthfulness of foods served at 8 family meal occasions. Participating families were provided an iPad (Apple Inc) and asked to video-record 8 consecutive days of family dinner meals with a minimum of two weekend meals. After the meal, families completed a meal screener, which is a self-reported, open-ended measure of the foods served at the meal. RESULTS Weekend and weekday meals differed in their measurement of meal healthfulness, indicating that at least one weekday and one weekend day are necessary to approximate meal healthfulness. Single-day measurement mischaracterized the strength of the relationship between the quality of what was served and intake by almost 50%, and 3 to 4 observation days were sufficient to characterize typical weekly meal healthfulness (<i>r</i>=0.94; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS Relatively few direct observational days of family meals data appear to be needed to approximate the healthfulness of meals across 1 week. Specifically, 1 weekday and 1 weekend observation are needed, including a total of 3 to 4 days of direct observational meal data. These findings may inform future direct observational study designs to reduce both research costs and participant burden in assessing features of the meal environment.

Communication Skills

This chapter is an in-depth exploration of communication between parents and teens. This foundation becomes important when difficult topics like depression, substance use, or family conflict need to be discussed. Communication strategies, including open-ended questioning, validation, empathy, and optimal timing, are detailed. The chapter illustrates why lecturing and immediate problem-solving are not helpful. Assertive communication within the family is discussed as well as cultural barriers to effective communication. The skills of motivational interviewing are applied to parent–child interactions about decisions. The family dinner is examined as an opportunity for shared communication and connection. Divorce is seen as a severe breakdown in communication, with 25–30% of children suffering negative effects. Arizona State University’s New Beginning Program for parents going through a divorce is presented as a proactive model that has reduced psychological problems in children and emerging adults.

The Association Between Electronic Device Use During Family Time and Family Well-Being: Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Electronic devices (eDevices) may have positive or negative influences on family communication and well-being depending on how they are used. OBJECTIVE We examined eDevice use during family time and its association with the quality of family communication and well-being in Hong Kong Chinese adults. METHODS In 2017, a probability-based 2-stage random sampling landline telephone survey collected data on eDevice use in daily life and during family time (eg, family dinner) and the presence of rules banning eDevice use during family dinner. Family communication quality was rated from 0 to 10 with higher scores being favorable. Family well-being was calculated as a composite mean score of 3 items each using the same scale from 0 to 10. The associations of family communication quality and well-being with eDevice use in daily life and during family time were estimated using beta-coefficient (β) adjusting for sociodemographics. The mediating role of family communication quality in the association between eDevice use and family well-being was analyzed. RESULTS Of the 2064 respondents (mean age 56.4 [SD 19.2] years, 1269/2064 [61.48%] female), 1579/2059 (76.69%) used an eDevice daily for a mean of 3.6 hours (SD 0.1) and 257/686 (37.5%) used it for 30+ minutes before sleep. As much as 794/2046 (38.81%) often or sometimes used an eDevice during family time including dinner (311/2017, 15.42%); 713/2012 (35.44%) reported use of an eDevice by family members during dinner. Lower family communication quality was associated with hours of eDevice use before sleep (adjusted β=–.25; 95% CI –0.44 to –0.05), and often use (vs never use) of eDevice during family dinner by oneself (adjusted β=–.51; 95% CI –0.91 to –0.10) and family members (adjusted β=–.54; 95% CI –0.79 to –0.29). Similarly, lower family well-being was associated with eDevice use before sleep (adjusted β=–.26; 95% CI –0.42 to –0.09), and often use during family dinner by oneself (adjusted β=–.48; 95% CI –0.83 to –0.12) and family members (adjusted β=–.50; 95% CI –0.72 to –0.28). Total ban of eDevice use during family dinner was negatively associated with often use by oneself (adjusted odds ratio 0.49; 95% CI 0.29 to 0.85) and family members (adjusted odds ratio 0.41; 95% CI 0.28, 0.60) but not with family communication and well-being. Lower family communication quality substantially mediated the total effect of the association of eDevice use time before sleep (61.2%) and often use at family dinner by oneself (87.0%) and by family members (67.8%) with family well-being. CONCLUSIONS eDevice use before sleep and during family dinner was associated with lower family well-being, and the association was substantially mediated by family communication quality. Our results suggest that interventions on smart use of eDevice may improve family communication and well-being.

Selfie stick accounts: extending and engaging visual methods in contemporary family practice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the challenges of using participant-produced photographs in family food research. Design/methodology/approach Families participating in a study on family dinners agreed to take photos of their weekday evening meal using their mobile phone and a Selfie-Stick. These images were subsequently used as a photo elicitation cue in a long interview. Findings “Selfies” or participant directed photographs, are a way to involve all family members in the research. Giving participants control over the composition and production of the image reveals how participants see themselves and how they wish to be seen while uncovering some of the physical, material and social realities of contemporary family practice. Photographs not only capture rich contextual and spatial details but also act as an aide memoir and interview stimulus to investigate broader socialisation around family feeding. Visual images reveal otherwise unrecalled aspects of the family dinner and encourage more reflection and discussion by participants around the social realities of their family practice. Photographs taken using a mobile phone and selfie stick complement and stimulate traditional methods of qualitative investigation. Originality/value The paper contributes to the debate about the challenges in using visual methods and how the selfie technique can be used, the photographs shared and visual data incorporated as part of the research method. As communicative affordances, the mobile phone, camera and selfie stick frame the practices around family dinner and afford the subject an agentic perspective as both producer and consumer of the image.

Associations between Meal Companions and Obesity in South Korean Adults

Dinner, considered the main meal of the day, forms a large portion of an individual’s overall food intake. Therefore, having family dinners has a significant impact on peoples’ health. This study examined the relationship between meal companions and obesity among South Korean adults. Data from 23,494 participants, from the 2013–2017 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), were examined. Participants were divided into three categories: dinner with family, dinner with others, and dinner alone. Obesity was the dependent variable, using body mass index recommended by the KNHANES. A multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the target association. Compared to those that had family dinners, people who ate dinner with others or alone had a higher obesity risk (With Others: odds ratio (OR) = 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04–1.36; Alone: OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.03–1.27). Participants who engaged in weekly heavy drinking were more likely to be obese than those who did not drink (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.19–1.51). Moreover, those who had dinner with others or alone were at higher risk of obesity regardless of their breakfast companion. Further, people who had daily meals outside of their homes had a higher risk of obesity than those who had dinner with others and those who had family dinners. Having family dinners poses a significantly lower risk of obesity compared to having dinners with others or alone, as shown by this investigation. By detailing the correlation between meal companions and obesity, this study could help motivate dieters to have more frequent family dinners.

Emotions Are Contagious

You're at the family dinner table. Your spouse worries that a friend's business is struggling. Then your son complains about his math homework and your inability to help, and your daughter asks when she will see her friends again. As the meal progresses, you can feel everyone becoming more and more anxious. Emotions are contagious. We automatically mimic each other's facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. Next, we actually feel the emotions we mimicked and begin to act on them. Without our realizing what's happening, feelings can escalate, as we “catch” them from other people, who catch them back from us, in an increasing spiral. While emotions spread more easily in person, they also get transmitted through social media, phone calls, emails, and video chats. In fact, negative emotions related to isolation may make us even more susceptible. Luckily, knowledge is a form of inoculation. Just being aware of emotional contagion can reduce its negative effects. And positive emotions transfer just as easily as negative ones. The spread of positive emotions leads to greater cooperation, less conflict, and improved performance.