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Title: Predicting use of ineffective 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: Public Health Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/8/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Most parenting interventions target increasing use of effective vegetable parenting practices, i.e., helping parents learn and perform behaviors likely to help their child eat more vegetables. Recent research indicates that parents are as likely to use ineffective, as effective, vegetable parenting practices, suggesting that ineffective vegetable parenting practices may need to be reduced. This paper identifies correlates of ineffective vegetable parenting practices to identify likely targets for reducing ineffective practices. Habits of using ineffective practices were the strongest correlates, but emotional and motivational variables also predicted ineffective practices. Innovative interventions need to be tested to target these correlates for change with the intention of minimizing ineffective vegetable parenting practices.

Technical Abstract: Increasing a parent's ability to influence a child's vegetable intake may require reducing the parent's use of ineffective vegetable parenting practices. This study assessed the psychosocial influences on ineffective vegetable parenting practices. A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted to model use of ineffective vegetable parenting practices using validated scales from a Model of Goal Directed Vegetable Parenting Practices. The dependent variable was a composite ineffective vegetable parenting practices index. The independent variables included validated subscales of intention, habit, perceived barriers, desire, competence, autonomy, relatedness, attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and anticipated emotions. Models were analyzed using block regression with backward deletion. Parents of 307 preschool (3-5 yo) children participated in the study. Variables significantly positively related to ineffective vegetable parenting practices in order of relationship strength included habit of controlling vegetable practices (standardized beta=0.349, p<0.0001) and desire (standardized beta=0.117, p=0.025). Variables significantly negatively related to ineffective vegetable parenting practices included perceived behavioral control of negative parenting practices (standardized beta= -0.215, p<0.000), the habit of active child involvement in vegetable selection (standardized beta=-0.142, p=0.008), anticipated negative parent emotional response to child vegetable refusal (standardized beta=-0.133, p=0.009), autonomy (standardized beta= -0.118, p=0.014), attitude about negative effects of vegetables (standardized beta=-0.118, p=0.015), and descriptive norms (standardized beta= -0.103, p=0.032). The model accounted for 40.5% of the variance in use of ineffective vegetable parenting practices. This was the first report of psychometrically tested scales to predict use of ineffective vegetable parenting practices. Innovative intervention procedures will be needed to reduce ineffective vegetable parenting practices.