Self-regulatory processes in early childhood as predictors of Hispanic children's BMI z-scores during the elementary school years: Differences by acculturation and gender

Authors: POWER, THOMAS - Washington State University; FISHER, JENNIFER - Temple University; O'CONNOR, TERESIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); MICHELI, NILDA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); PAPAIOANNOU, MARIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); HUGHES, SHERYL - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Appetite
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2021
Publication Date: 10/29/2021
Citation: Power, T.G., Fisher, J.O., O'Connor, T.M., Micheli, N., Papaioannou, M.A., Hughes, S.O. 2021. Self-regulatory processes in early childhood as predictors of Hispanic children's BMI z-scores during the elementary school years: Differences by acculturation and gender. Appetite. 168. Article 105778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105778.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105778

Interpretive Summary: Self-regulatory skills are the mental processes that enable children to plan, focus their attention, remember instructions, and successfully complete multiple tasks. The brain needs these skills to filter out distractions, prioritize tasks, set and achieve goals, and control impulses. Children develop and use self-regulatory skills across different domains. These skills are crucial for learning and development (cognitive competence). They also enable positive behavior and allow children to make healthy choices. The present study followed 130 Hispanic children from low-income households over a time period of three to just under five years beginning in preschool. Self-regulatory skills and weight were measured across two domains, cognition and eating. General self-regulation was negatively associated whereas eating self-regulatory was positively associated with later child weight. Child gender differences were found as well as differences based on mothers' acculturation. Future research should examine how Hispanic children are socialized to better understand these findings.

Technical Abstract: Over the last decade, longitudinal research has shown that children's general, top-down self-regulation during early childhood is negatively associated with children's weight status in elementary school. The samples in these previous studies have been primarily White, and no study to date has examined this issue in a sample of Hispanic children from low-income families-a population at high risk for childhood obesity. The present study followed 130 Hispanic children over a time period of three to just under five years, examining the degree to which multiple measures of general, top-down self-regulation, along with a measure of appetite regulation (eating in the absence of hunger), predicted children's BMI z-scores in the early elementary school years. Results showed that children's ability to delay gratification in the preschool years was negatively associated with later BMI z-scores and that children's eating in the absence of hunger was positively associated. In separate models by gender, these relationships were significant only for girls. Moreover, analyses run separately for children of mothers low or high on acculturation showed that the relationship between delay of gratification and later BMI z-scores was significant only for children whose mothers were low on acculturation. Possible socialization and environmental factors contributing to these findings are considered.