Precision Food Parenting: A Proposed Conceptual Model and Research Agenda

Precision medicine, nutrition and behavioral interventions are attempting to move beyond the specification of therapies applied to groups, since some people benefit, some do not and some are harmed by the same therapy. Instead, precision therapies are attempting to employ diverse sets of data to individualize or tailor interventions to optimize the benefits for the receiving individuals. The benefits to be achieved are mostly in the distant future, but the research needs to start now. While precision pediatric nutrition will combine diverse demographic, behavioral and biological variables to specify the optimal foods a child should eat to optimize health, precision food parenting will combine diverse parent and child psychosocial and related variables to identify the optimal parenting practices to help a specific child accept and consume the precision nutrition specified foods. This paper presents a conceptual overview and hypothetical model of factors we believe are needed to operationalize precision food parenting and a proposed research agenda to better understand the many specified relationships, how they change over the age of the child, and how to operationalize them to encourage food parenting practices most likely to be effective at promoting healthy child food choices.

Exploring differences in perceptions of child feeding practices between parents and health care professionals: a qualitative study

Background Evidence on child feeding practice is often based on the perspectives and experiences of parents and less that of health practitioners. In this study, we explored child feeding practice in Aboriginal communities in northern Australia from both the parents and health practitioners’ perspectives with the aim of informing nutrition improvement programs. Methods Qualitative research methods were employed. Using semi-structured interviews, parents (n = 30) of children aged 2–5 years, and 29 service providers who were involved in the delivery of child health and nutrition programs in the same communities, were asked about child feeding attitudes and practices. Responses were analyzed through inductive and deductive analysis, recognizing that worldviews influence child feeding practices. Results Sharing food was a central practice within families. Parents highly valued development of child independence in food behavior but were conflicted with the easy access to unhealthy food in their communities. This easy access to unhealthy food and inadequate food storage and kitchen facilities for some families were major challenges to achieving optimal diets for children identified by Aboriginal families and service providers. The responsive style of parenting described by parents was often misunderstood by service providers as sub-optimal parenting when viewed through a dominant western lens. Conclusions Approaches to support healthy feeding practices and optimal child nutrition require health-enabling food environments. Along with a community-based Aboriginal health workforce, it is paramount that the non-Aboriginal workforce be supported to be reflective of the impact of worldview on their practice, to ensure a culturally safe environment for families where parenting styles are understood and appropriately supported.

Measurement Invariance in the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire: Implications for Culturally Inclusive Parenting Research

Questions persist in the parenting literature regarding how best to define positive and negative parenting behaviors. Are there optimal parenting behaviors shared by mothers and fathers, or among different racial and ethnic groups? This study draws from a nationally representative sample of US parents of school-age children, testing aspects of measurement invariance in the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) full and short forms. Our goal was to highlight psychometric approaches to enhancing cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in parenting research, by assessing whether self-reported parenting behaviors have similar conceptual structure across groups. Tests of measurement invariance revealed that the factor structure of the APQ was the same across parent gender, race, and ethnicity. While partial invariance was found in some instances, we did not find metric and scalar invariance in comparisons among these groups. We conclude with research- and practice-based implications, and provide recommendations for future measurement development and use.

Correlation between Parenting Styles and Emotional Intelligence among Adolescents

A correlational study to assess the parenting styles and emotional intelligence among adolescents in selected colleges, Thrissur. The objectives of the study were to identify the parenting styles among adolescents, assess the level of emotional intelligence among adolescents, correlate parenting styles and emotional intelligence among adolescents, associate the parenting styles among adolescents with their selected demographic variables and associate the emotional intelligence with their selected demographic variables. The conceptual framework used in this study was the Health Promotion Model proposed by Nola J Pender. Simple random sampling (Lottery methods) technique was used to select the samples. A non-experimental descriptive design was adopted to assess the parenting styles and emotional intelligence among 100 adolescents. The tool consisted of a structured questionnaire to assess the demographic variables of adolescents that include age, gender, occupation of parents, education of parents, siblings, birth order, monthly income of the family, and spiritual activity. Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) was used to assess the parenting styles and the emotional intelligence inventory was used to assess the emotional intelligence. The pilot study was done for 10 subjects and the tool found to be feasible for the study. The main study was conducted from 10th February to 9th March 2020. The study findings revealed that the maternal parenting styles includes 57% of adolescents had affectionate parenting style, 22% had optimal parenting style, 20% had affectionless parenting style and only 1% had neglectful parenting style with mean score of 45.6 while consider the paternal parenting styles 53% of adolescents had affectionate parenting style, 23% had affectionless control parenting style, 21% had optimal parenting style and only 3% had neglectful parenting style with mean score of 43.29. Whereas the emotional intelligence of adolescents, 33% of adolescents had middle level of emotional intelligence, 25% had high and very high level of emotional intelligence, 16% had low level of emotional intelligence and only 1% had very low level of emotional intelligence. There was negative correlation between maternal and paternal parenting styles and the value was -0.069. Also, p-value was 0.497 which was greater than 0.05 (p value > 0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between parenting styles and the emotional intelligence of adolescents. There was an association between maternal parenting styles and age of adolescents where the p value was0.048. There was no association between Paternal parenting styles and selected demographic variables. No association could be found between emotional intelligence and selected demographic variables.

A Systematic Review of Parenting in Singapore: Insights to the Culture-Specific Functions of Styles and Practices

Cross-cultural studies on parenting have identified cultural nuances that may impact the form and functions of parenting styles and practices in different contexts. This systematic review is undertaken with the aim of identifying such nuances in an under-studied culture (Singapore), as a starting point to understand and compare the forms and functions of parenting in Asia and beyond. A review of 27 studies showed that optimal parenting styles and practices were associated with positive child development outcomes in Singapore, similar to what has been observed in Western contexts. However, some parenting behaviours that were typically considered to be sub-optimal were not invariably related to poorer child outcomes in Singapore, indicating that there may be protective cultural factors related to the interpretation of parental control. Adopting an emic approach to parenting research would deepen our understanding of the cultural generality and specificity of practices, ensuring that the design and implementation of parenting interventions are culturally appropriate and effective.

The effects of parental control and warmth on problematic internet use in adolescents: A prospective cohort study

Background and aimsProblematic internet use (PIU) is a highly prevalent condition with severe adverse effects. The literature suggests that parent-child bonding and parental behavioral control exert protective effects against PIU. However, the most relevant studies rely on simplistic measurement of parenting, cross-sectional designs and mixed-aged samples. Our study analyzed the effect of maternal and paternal parenting on PIU by using a prospective design and a cohort sample of same-aged children.MethodsData from 1,019 Czech 12-year-old sixth-graders who were followed until ninth grade were used. Maternal and paternal responsiveness and strictness were reported by children using the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ) and the Parental Control Scale (PCS). PIU was measured by the Excessive Internet Use Scale (EIUS).ResultsThe self-reported PIU prevalence in nine-graders (15-year-old) was 8.1%. Parenting, reported by adolescents 18 months before PIU screening, showed significant relationships with PIU: parental responsiveness was negatively and moderately associated, while maternal strictness showed a weak positive association; the authoritative parenting style in both parents decreased PIU, with a PIU probability of 3.21%, while a combination of maternal authoritarian and paternal neglectful parenting was associated with PIU probability as high as 20.9%.Discussion and conclusionsThe self-reported prevalence of PIU in Czech adolescents was found to be high. The effects of parenting on PIU were similar to the effects of parenting on other problematic behavior among adolescents. Our findings showed the need for interventions to prevent PIU by helping parents to apply optimal parenting styles.

African American Parents’ Educational Involvement in Urban Schools: Contextualized Strategies for Student Success in Adolescence

Research on parental educational involvement has been organized into three overarching domains—home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and academic socialization. Conventional empirical work in these domains typically centers involvement strategies around White, middle-class experiences rather than examining how optimal parenting approaches vary by race and context. Even fewer studies have explored the manifestations of involvement across these categories in underresourced urban educational settings. In response, the current study draws on the voices of African American parents and their children attending urban public schools to describe the distinct approaches to home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and academic socialization that parents use to ensure a quality education for their children. Findings demonstrate how African American parents engage in racially infused and contextually tailored navigational involvement approaches as they seek to offset the effects of inhibiting educational contexts. Results add ecological nuance and new typologies to how parental involvement in education is conceptualized across the settings.

The Associations between Family-Related Factors and Excessive Internet Use in Adolescents

This study examined the relationship between Excessive Internet Use (EIU) in adolescents and their family environment, namely the family type, the family economic status, the effect of parental care, the level of parental control, the amount of parental monitoring, the quality of communication, and the time spent together. The study was based on data from an international survey, Health Behaviour in School Aged Children (HBSC), conducted in Slovakia. The sample representative for adolescents included 2547 participants (51% boys) aged 13–15. Multiple-step linear regression revealed that higher parental care and parental monitoring predicted lower EIU, while higher parental overprotection and lower socioeconomic status predicted higher EIU. The results suggest that both so-called optimal parenting (i.e., the balance of emotional warmth and protection) and the adolescent′s autonomy lower the risk of EIU. Family factors explained about 14% of the variance, which suggests that aside from personal, cognitive and affective factors, a close social environment also plays an important role in adolescence EIU.

Parenting Changes of Mothers of a Child with Cancer

Having a child with cancer affects the dyadic relationship between caregivers and the child. This study focused on changes in parenting and discipline among mothers after their child was diagnosed with cancer. We used semistructured interviews to explore 20 mothers’ experiences of parenting a child who had been diagnosed with cancer during the prior 5 years and before the age of 19 years in South Korea. Thematic analysis yielded five themes related to parenting changes: parental overprotection, increased parental permissiveness, use of threats to ensure compliance, concern for the child’s stress levels, and mothers’ confusion about optimal parenting. All mothers reported uncertainty and concern regarding how best to parent their sick child to ensure optimal health outcomes. The findings inform best practices for integrating medical and mental health care to support optimal maternal parenting and encourage optimal health outcomes for children with cancer.