The relationship between parent feeding style, demandingness, responsiveness and BMI: A systematic review and meta-analysis

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Health, Growth, Injury

Abstract

The Caregiver’s Feeding Style Questionnaire (CFSQ) supports researchers who are investigating the typical approach parents take in feeding their children (Hughes et al., 2005). This 19-item questionnaire is well established in the literature, with good reliability and validity and is made up of 7 child-centered items (e.g., asking questions) and 12 parent-centered items (e.g., providing rewards). These items are used to develop two dimensions of demandingness and responsiveness which are used to classify parents into one of the four feeding style typologies similar to Baumrind’s (1967) and Maccoby-Martin’s (1983) parenting styles: authoritative (high on demandingness and responsiveness); authoritarian (high, low); indulgent (low, high) and uninvolved (low, low).

In 2012, Hughes and her colleagues identified a standardized cut-off score for the CFSQ based on the average scores on responsiveness (M = 1.16) and demandingness (M = 2.82) from five studies featuring a low-income minority sample (Hughes et al., 2012). Since then, this cut-off value has been used by other researchers, but based on the limited sample characteristics may not be appropriate for different populations and may result in mis-classification of parents in feeding style categories.

As a result, the following study will summarize and synthesize existing literature from multiple studies (k = 22) to meet a series of objectives. The aims of this study are to determine the average for (1) each of the parenting style categories as well as demandingness and responsiveness across low-income families in the US and by geographic region and (2) examine the average effect size between BMI and demandingness and responsiveness and calculate the average median split across these dimensions.

Over 600 articles which cited Hughes’ publication that introduced the CFSQ (Hughes et al., 2005) were reviewed. Of these, 420 were published since 2012 when the cut-off scores were recommended and only 52 used the CFSQ as a measure in their study. These were double coded for sample characteristics such as ethnicity, low-income status, geographic location, and which caregivers were targeted. Articles were also coded for whether the authors used Hughes’ demandingness and responsiveness cut-off scores, the categorical breakdown of parent feeding style, as well as BMI based on those categories. Authors of each identified study were contacted to provide information that was not readily accessible in their article. All responses with complete data are expected by the end of 2020. Table 1 provides preliminary results regarding aim 1 which will be updated once all authors have responded. To date, there is not sufficient data to address aim 2 regarding the meta-analysis for BMI and demandingness and responsiveness. This will be addressed once all data is available and will be analyzed well in advance of the presentation date.

Once complete, this research will point to an existing gap in the literature concerning a systematic review of data surrounding parent feeding style and BMI in low-income minority populations across the U.S. By providing a comprehensive analysis of results across studies, we are able to provide a clear direction for future research and interventions in this at-risk group.

Authors

• Briana Angela Lopez, University of Texas at Austin
  Presenting Author

• Rayna Garcia, University of North Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jody S. Nicholson, University of North Florida
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sheryl O. Hughes
  Non-Presenting Author