title: Child gender and weight status moderate the relation of maternal feeding practices to body esteem in 1st grade children.
abstract: Prevention of body dissatisfaction development is critical for minimizing adverse effects of poor body esteem on eating behaviors, self-esteem, and overall health. Research has examined body esteem and its correlates largely in pre-adolescents and adolescents; however, important questions remain about factors influencing body esteem of younger children. The main purpose of this study was to test moderation by children's gender and weight status of the relation of maternal controlling feeding practices to 1st graders' body esteem. The Body Esteem Scale (BES) and anthropometric measurements were completed during one-on-one child interviews at school. Mothers completed the Child Feeding Questionnaire (restriction, monitoring, concern, self-assessed maternal weight). A total of 410 mother/child dyads (202 girls) participated. Percent of children classified as overweight (BMI-for-age ≥85th) was: girls - 29%; boys - 27%. Gender moderated the relation between restriction and body esteem (β = -.140, p = .05), with maternal restriction predicting body esteem in girls but not boys. The hypothesized three-way interaction among gender, child weight status, and monitoring was confirmed. Monitoring was significantly inversely related to body esteem only for overweight/obese girls (b = -1.630). The moderating influence of gender or gender and weight status on the link between maternal feeding practices and body esteem suggests the importance of body esteem interventions for girls as early as first grade.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina Greensboro, 311 Stone Building, Greensboro 27412, USA. Electronic address: lenka.shriver@uncg.edu.
authors.forename: Lenka H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Shriver
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, 341 Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hubbs-Tait
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, 341 Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Harrist
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, 341 Human Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA.
authors.forename: Glade
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Topham
authors.affiliation: Assistant Vice President for Creative and Scholarly Activity, West Virginia University, PO Box 6216, 886 Chestnut Ridge Rd, Morgantown, WV 26505-6216, USA.
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Page
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers; D016487:Parenting; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Body esteem; Controlling feeding practices; Gender; School-age; Weight status