Naturalistic Observation of Father’s Controlling Feeding Practices During Meal Times

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Health, Growth, Injury

Abstract

Children’s eating habits impact later health and development. Mothers’ use of controlling feeding practices is related to disturbed self-regulation in eating, nutrition, and obesity (Haycraft et al., 2017). Although fathers feel less responsibility for feeding than mothers (Mallan et al., 2013), paternal feeding practices relate to children’s eating and weight status above and beyond maternal practices (Fraser et al., 2011). However, very few studies have observed fathers’ behaviors during mealtime. The current study will report on our observation of father’s use of controlling feeding practices during dinner time, their occurrence over the course of the meal, and predictors of fathers’ observed behaviors.

Families (N=101) participated in a larger study of family system influences on eating; this study focuses on a subset of fathers (N = 81) who participated in mealtime observations. Families had one child between the ages of 3- to 5- years old selected as the “target” in which we examined paternal behavior (M=4.36; 40% girls; MBMI percentile= 66.01, Range=6-100). They were asked to video record their dinners for 7 days. Videos were coded by two trained RAs, who selected whether fathers engaged in five feeding behaviors (verbal pressure to eat, physical prompts to eat, use of incentives/contingencies to get child to eat, restriction, and praise for eating) during 30-second intervals for the entire duration of the meal. For this analysis, we randomly selected one video from days 2- 6 for each family to account for differences in father participation in meals across families. Observed feeding behaviors were summed across quartiles (Q1-Q4), allowing us to examine behaviors at differing times within the meal, as well as a total score for the entire meal. Parents completed the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (Musher-Eizenman & Holub, 2007) and the Children’s Eating Behavior Questionnaire (Wardleet al., 2001).

Observed feeding practices varied across families (Table 1). Pressure was observed more frequently than other practices, F (1.29, 103.3) = 23.13, p < .001. Repeated-Measures ANOVAs comparing the four quartiles for all 5 feeding practices suggested that fathers used pressure (F (3, 240) = 3.41, p = .02) and praise (F (3, 240) = 3.43, p = .02) significantly more at the end of the meal than at the beginning (Table 1). Praise was correlated with observed pressure and incentives/contingencies (rs= .65 and .33, ps <.01), suggesting that praise is a covert tactic for increasing food consumption. Fathers’ observed behaviors were not related to child BMI percentile or gender, but observed pressure and praise were related to child age (both rs = -.29, ps= .01). Partial correlations highlight child eating behaviors associated with pressure, incentives/contingencies, and praise (Table 2). Fathers’ self-reported controlling feeding practices were only associated with physical prompts. Fathers who reported that they could not afford many healthy foods were more likely to use physical prompts during meals (Table 2).


Fathers’ feeding practices are often ignored, but this study suggests the importance of considering fathers’ role in feeding. Since controlling feeding practices are counterproductive, this data provides some context for including dads in interventions.

Authors

• Callie Brooke De La Cerda, University of Texas at Dallas
  Presenting Author

• Melissa Heinrich, University of Texas at Dallas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shayla C Holub, University of Texas at Dallas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jackie A Nelson, University of Texas at Dallas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anna Scully, University of Texas at Dallas
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anna Straughan, University of Texas at Dallas
  Non-Presenting Author