Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #300483
Title: Predicting use of ineffective responsive, structure and control vegetable parenting practices with the Model of Goal Directed Behavior

Author
item BARANOWSKI, TOM - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BELTRAN, ALICIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item CHEN, TZU - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item Thompson, Deborah - Debbe
item O'CONNOR, TERESIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item HUGHES, SHERYL - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item DIEP, CASSANDRA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item BARANOWSKI, JANICE - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Journal of Food Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/25/2013
Publication Date: 12/1/2013
Citation: Baranowski, T., Beltran, A., Chen, T.A., Thompson, D.J., O'Connor, T., Hughes, S., Diep, C., Baranowski, J.C. 2013. Predicting use of ineffective responsive, structure and control vegetable parenting practices with the Model of Goal Directed Behavior. Journal of Food Research. 2(6):80-88.

Interpretive Summary: Parents employ parenting practices to get their child to eat vegetables. Some of these parenting practices are known to be ineffective over the long term. Knowing why parents elect to use ineffective vegetable parenting practices (IVPP) could lead to programs to help parents decrease their use. There are three general categories or types of IVPP. The Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices (MGDVPP) provides a broad base of variables for understanding why parents elect to use IVPP. An internet survey was conducted with parents of 3-5 year old children that included measures of IVPP and MGDVPP. Three variables were shown to predict each of the IVPP while other predictive variables were specific to IVPP. Parent emotional responses to child vegetable rejection was a previously little studied variable shown to be predictive. These results need to be replicated in other samples and longitudinal designs. If validated, future interventions will need to consider how to change these predictive variables to enable parents to avoid or minimize their use of IVPP.

Technical Abstract: This study reports the modeling of three categories of ineffective vegetable parenting practices (IVPP) separately (responsive, structure, and control vegetable parenting practices). An internet survey was employed for a cross sectional assessment of parenting practices and cognitive-emotional variables. Parents (n = 307) of preschool children (3-5 years old) were recruited through announcements and postings. Models were analyzed with block regression and backward deletion procedures using IVPP scales as the dependent variables. The independent variables included validated scales from a Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices (MGDVPP), including: intention, habit, perceived barriers, desire, competence, autonomy, relatedness, attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and anticipated emotions. The available scales accounted for 26.5%, 16.7% and 44.6% of the variance in the IVPP responsive, structure and control subscales, respectively. Different sets of diverse variables predicted the three IVPP constructs. Intentions, Habits and Perceived Behavioral Control variables were strong predictors for each of the IVPP constructs, but the subscales were specific to each IVPP construct. Parent emotional responses, an infrequently investigated variable, was an important predictor of ineffective responsive vegetable parenting practices and ineffective structure vegetable parenting practices, but not ineffective control vegetable parenting practices. An Attitude subscale and a norms subscale predicted ineffective responsive vegetable parenting practices alone. This was the first report of psychometrically tested scales to predict use of IVPP subscales. Further research is needed to verify these findings in larger longitudinal cohorts. Interventions to increase child vegetable intake may have to reduce IVPP.