title: Mediators of maternal depression and family structure on child BMI: parenting quality and risk factors for child overweight.
abstract: Risk factors for child obesity may be influenced by family environment, including maternal depression, family structure, and parenting quality. We tested a path model in which maternal depression and single parent status are associated with parenting quality, which relates to three risk factors for child obesity: diet, leisure, and sedentary behavior. Participants included 4,601 5th-grade children and their primary caregivers who participated in the Healthy Passages study. Results showed that associations of maternal depression and single parenthood with child BMI are mediated by parenting quality and its relation to children's leisure activity and sedentary behavior. Interventions for child obesity may be more successful if they target family environment, particularly parenting quality and its impact on children's active and sedentary behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
authors.forename: Regina L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: McConley
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mrug
authors.forename: M Janice
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gilliland
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lowry
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Schuster
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bogart
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Franzini
authors.forename: Soledad L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Escobar-Chaves
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Franklin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004032:Diet; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment