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What Parents Really Think About Their Feeding Practices and Behaviors: Lessons Learned from the Development of a Parental Feeding Assessment Tool

Sitnick, Stephanie L. and Ontai, Lenna L. and Townsend, Marilyn (2014) What Parents Really Think About Their Feeding Practices and Behaviors: Lessons Learned from the Development of a Parental Feeding Assessment Tool. Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 2 (2). 84 - 92. ISSN 2325-5226

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Abstract

Interest in the role that parenting assumes in child obesity has increased the need for valid and reliable screening tools that are specific for populations targeted by programming efforts. While low-income families comprise a large audience for Cooperative Extension obesity prevention programs, valid and reliable self-administered parenting assessments for this population are lacking. Development of such tools requires understanding low-income parents’ interpretations of questions related to their parenting. The current paper reports on interviews conducted with low-income parents (N = 44) of 3- to 5-year-old children during the development of a tool to assess parenting in the context of feeding. Interviews revealed areas of potential discrepancy between parents’ and researchers’ interpretations of items that may affect parents’ responses and subsequent measurement validity when used in Cooperative Extension community intervention setting. Three themes emerged that may interfere with valid and reliable assessments of constructs: fear of being labeled a “harsh parent,” response bias due to previous knowledge, and discrepancy in interpretation of the intended construct. Results highlight complexities of constructing parent-report assessments of parenting for low-income audiences, and potential hazards of using research-focused tools with high respondent burden. Guidelines for educators assessing parents’ feeding behaviors are presented.

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Details

Item Type: Article
Status: Published
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Sitnick, Stephanie L.
Ontai, Lenna L.
Townsend, Marilyn
Date: 2014
Date Type: Publication
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Journal or Publication Title: Journal of Human Sciences and Extension
Volume: 2
Number: 2
Publisher: Mississippi State University
Page Range: 84 - 92
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology
Refereed: Yes
ISSN: 2325-5226
Article Type: Research Article
Date Deposited: 22 May 2015 21:04
Last Modified: 20 Dec 2018 00:56
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24838

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