Feeding Practices and Styles Used by a Diverse Sample of Low-income Parents of Preschool-age Children
published online 15 March 2010.
Abstract
Objective
To describe the feeding practices and styles used by a diverse sample of low-income parents of preschool-age children.
Design
Thirty- to 60-minute meetings involving a semistructured interview and 2 questionnaires administered by the interviewer.
Setting
Low-income communities in Philadelphia, PA.
Participants
Thirty-two parents of 2- to 6-year-old children.
Phenomena of Interest
The feeding practices and styles of low-income parents of preschoolers.
Analysis
Qualitative interviews analyzed iteratively following a thematic approach; quantitative data analyzed using nonparametric and chi-square tests.
Results
Qualitative analyses revealed parents used a myriad of feeding practices to accomplish child-feeding goals. Racial/ethnic differences were seen; East Asian parents used more child-focused decision-making processes, whereas black parents used more parent-focused decision-making processes. Quantitative analyses substantiated racial/ethnic differences; black parents placed significantly higher demands on children for the amounts (H = 5.89, 2 df, P = .05; Kruskal-Wallis) and types (H = 8.39, 2 df, P = .01; Kruskal-Wallis) of food eaten compared to parents of other races/ethnicities. In contrast, significantly higher proportions of East Asian parents were classified as having an indulgent feeding style compared to black parents and parents of other races/ethnicities (χ2[4, n = 32] = 9.29, P < .05).
Conclusions and Implications
Findings provide support for tailoring nutrition education programs to meet the diverse needs of this target audience.
2Pennsylvania Nutrition Education TRACKS, State College, PA
3The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University Park, PA
Address for correspondence: Alison K. Ventura, PhD, Monell Chemical Senses Center, 3500 Market St, Rm 319, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308; Phone: (267) 519-4884; Fax: (215) 898-2084
Continuing Education Questionnaire available at www.sne.org/ Meets Learning Need Codes for RDs and DTRs 4020, 4150, and 6040.
ABSTRACT