Feeding practices and styles used by a diverse sample of low-income parents of preschool-age children.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the feeding practices and styles used by a diverse sample of low-income parents of preschool-age children.


METHODS
Thirty- to 60-minute meetings involving a semistructured interview and 2 questionnaires administered by the interviewer.


METHODS
Low-income communities in Philadelphia, PA.


METHODS
Thirty-two parents of 2- to 6-year-old children.


METHODS
The feeding practices and styles of low-income parents of preschoolers.


METHODS
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 (chi(2)[4, n = 32] = 9.29, P < .05).


CONCLUSIONS
Findings provide support for tailoring nutrition education programs to meet the diverse needs of this target audience.
Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3308, USA. aventura@monell.org
Alison K
AK
Ventura
Judy C
JC
Gromis
Barbara
B
Lohse
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005248:Feeding Methods; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D015143:Philadelphia; D011203:Poverty; D014505:Urban Population