title: It's always snack time: an investigation of event scripts in young children.
abstract: This study examined whether young children include eating in their cognitive scripts for various events, and whether food-related scripts are associated with body mass index (BMI) percentile. Data were collected in a structured interview format. Participants, recruited from area preschools and day cares, provided a four-activity sequence for each of three events, and responses were recorded verbatim. Forty-four children (45% female) participated, with an average BMI percentile of 73.3% (SD = 25.9). Data were binarily coded to indicate whether each response was food-related. Frequencies were obtained, and responses were correlated with BMI percentile. Over 22% of the activities in the children's scripts involved food. The number of food-related activities reported was positively correlated with children's BMI percentile (r = 0.53, p = 0.03). Results provide preliminary evidence that food features prominently in young children's event scripts and that children with higher BMI percentiles may possess scripts that feature more food-related themes. Future researchers should investigate the causal nature of this relationship.
authors.affiliation: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Dara R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Musher-Eizenman
authors.affiliation: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA. Electronic address: jmmarx@bgsu.edu.
authors.forename: Jenna M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.affiliation: Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Maija B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Taylor
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000517:prevention & control; D062410:Snacks
keywords: Child psychology; Food choice; Obesity; Qualitative; Schema