title: Parental feeding practices in Mexican American families: initial test of an expanded measure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although obesity rates are high among Latino children, relatively few studies of parental feeding practices have examined Latino families as a separate group. Culturally-based approaches to measurement development can begin to identify parental feeding practices in specific cultural groups. This study used qualitative and quantitative methods to develop and test the Parental Feeding Practices (PFP) Questionnaire for use with Mexican American parents. Items reflected both parent's use of control over child eating and child-centered feeding practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the qualitative phase of the research, 35 Latino parents participated in focus groups. Items for the PFP were developed from focus group discussions, as well as adapted from existing parent feeding practice measures. Cognitive interviews were conducted with 37 adults to evaluate items. In the quantitative phase, mothers and fathers of 174 Mexican American children ages 8-10 completed the PFP and provided demographic information. Anthropometric measures were obtained on family members.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Confirmatory factor analyses identified four parental feeding practice dimensions: positive involvement in child eating, pressure to eat, use of food to control behavior, and restriction of amount of food. Factorial invariance modeling suggested equivalent factor meaning and item response scaling across mothers and fathers. Mothers and fathers differed somewhat in their use of feeding practices. All four feeding practices were related to child body mass index (BMI) percentiles, for one or both parents. Mothers reporting more positive involvement had children with lower BMI percentiles. Parents using more pressure to eat had children with lower BMI percentiles, while parents using more restriction had children with higher BMI percentiles. Fathers using food to control behavior had children with lower BMI percentiles.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results indicate good initial validity and reliability for the PFP. It can be used to increase understanding of parental feeding practices, children's eating, and obesity among Mexican Americans, a population at high risk of obesity.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, CA 94143-0848, USA. tschannj@healthpsych.ucsf.edu
authors: Jeanne M
authors: JM
authors: Tschann
authors: Steven E
authors: SE
authors: Gregorich
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Penilla
authors: Lauri A
authors: LA
authors: Pasch
authors: Cynthia L
authors: CL
authors: de Groat
authors: Elena
authors: E
authors: Flores
authors: Julianna
authors: J
authors: Deardorff
authors: Louise C
authors: LC
authors: Greenspan
authors: Nancy F
authors: NF
authors: Butte
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D032763:Behavior Control; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003469:Culture; D004032:Diet; D004435:Eating; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting; D010290:Parents; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*