title: Development of the General Parenting Observational Scale to assess parenting during family meals.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is growing interest in the relationship between general parenting and childhood obesity. However, assessing general parenting via surveys can be difficult due to issues with self-report and differences in the underlying constructs being measured. As a result, different aspects of parenting have been associated with obesity risk. We developed a more objective tool to assess general parenting by using observational methods during a mealtime interaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  The General Parenting Observational Scale (GPOS) was based on prior work of Baumrind, Maccoby and Martin, Barber, and Slater and Power. Ten dimensions of parenting were included; 4 were classified in the emotional dimension of parenting (warmth and affection, support and sensitivity, negative affect, detachment), and 6 were classified in the behavioral dimension of parenting (firm discipline and structure, demands for maturity, psychological control, physical control, permissiveness, neglect). Overweight children age 8-12 years old and their parent (n = 44 dyads) entering a weight control program were videotaped eating a family meal. Parents were coded for their general parenting behaviors. The Mealtime Family Interaction Coding System (MICS) and several self-report measures of general parenting were also used to assess the parent-child interaction. Spearman's correlations were used to assess correlation between measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The emotional dimensions of warmth/affection and support/sensitivity, and the behavioral dimension of firm discipline/structure were robustly captured during the family meals. Warmth/affection and support/sensitivity were significantly correlated with affect management, interpersonal involvement, and communication from the MICS. Firm discipline/structure was inversely correlated with affect management, behavior control, and task accomplishment. Parents who were older, with higher educational status, and lower BMIs were more likely to display warmth/affection and support/sensitivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Several general parenting dimensions from the GPOS were highly correlated with similar family functioning constructs from the MICS. This new observational tool appears to be a valid means of assessing general parenting behaviors during mealtimes and adds to our ability to measure parent-level factors affecting child weight-related outcomes. Future evaluation of this tool in a broader range of the population and other family settings should be conducted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA. k1rhee@ucsd.edu.|Division of Academic General Pediatrics, Developmental Pediatrics, and Community Health, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, MC 0874, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA. k1rhee@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Kyung E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Rhee
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, USA. Susan_Dickstein@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dickstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, USA. Elissa_Jelalian@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Elissa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Jelalian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA. kboutelle@ucsd.edu.|School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA. kboutelle@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Kerri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boutelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, USA. Ronald_Seifer@brown.edu.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seifer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University Medical School, Providence, USA. rwing@lifespan.org.
authors.forename: Rena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wing
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals; D008875:Middle Aged; D019370:Observation / Q000379:methods*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012944:Social Support