title: Race/ethnicity, acculturation, and sex differences in the relationship between parental social support and children's overweight and obesity.
abstract: In the present study we use the 2007 National Survey of Child Health to examine whether parental social support is associated with children's overweight/obesity and if this relationship is moderated by race/ethnicity, acculturation, and/or parent's sex. Results reveal that Hispanics (English and Spanish-speaking) and African Americans have considerably higher rates of child overweight/obesity and are less likely to have social support with parenting than Whites. Social support emerged as a significant predictor of overweight/obesity only for English-speaking Hispanic fathers. However, the magnitude of this effect was substantial. English-speaking Hispanic fathers were more than twice as likely as White fathers to have an overweight/obese child, but with social support, the odds declined by 80%. Findings suggest a need to understand better how race/ethnicity and acculturative stress shape fathers' parenting practices and how social support serves to buffer these strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.
authors.forename: Toni Terling
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Watt
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martinez-Ramos
authors.forename: Debarun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Majumdar
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support