Mutually Responsive Orientation: A novel observational assessment of mother-child mealtime interactions.
Mother-child mealtime interactions during preschool years is an important but overlooked factor when evaluating the influence of parent-child relationships on child eating and weight. This paper describes the validation of the Mutually Responsive Orientation (MRO) coding system adapted for assessing parent-child interactions during food preparation and consumption situations. Home-based mealtimes of 94 mothers and their children (3.03 ± 0.75 years) were filmed at two time points, 12-months apart. Filmed dimensions of mutual mother-child responsiveness, shared positive affect, maternal control relating to food and child compliance were assessed. Objective BMI and maternal reports of parenting, feeding, child eating, diet and child temperament were also collected. Correlations, repeated measures ANOVAs and regressions were performed to examine the validity of MRO variables and their stability across both time points. Validation analysis showed the MRO coding system performed as expected: dyads with higher MRO scores expressed lower control/power assertion, lower child non-compliance, and greater committed compliance. The measure demonstrated sensitivity to specific contexts: maternal responsiveness, mother and child positive affect were higher during food consumption compared to food preparation. Coded dimensions were stable across time points, with the exception of decreases in maternal responsiveness in food consumption and child non-compliance in food preparation. MRO and maternal dimensions were correlated with maternally reported parenting and feeding measures. Maternal responsiveness (inversely) and child responsiveness (positively) were concurrently associated with child fussy eating, and child refusal was prospectively and inversely associated with child fussy eating. Findings suggest the adapted MRO coding system is a useful measure for examining observed parent-child mealtime interactions potentially implicated in preschoolers' eating and weight development.
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Heidi
H
Bergmeier
Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
Nazan
N
Aksan
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Skye
S
McPhie
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Matthew
M
Fuller-Tyszkiewicz
Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health and Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia.
Louise
L
Baur
School of Psychological Sciences, Melbourne University, Melbourne, Australia; Parent-Infant Research Institute, Department of Clinical and Health, Psychology, Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Heidelberg West, Australia.
Jeannette
J
Milgrom
Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Karen
K
Campbell
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
Defne
D
Demir
School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia. Electronic address: h.skouteris@deakin.edu.au.
Helen
H
Skouteris
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals / Q000523:psychology*; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000523:psychology*; D009035:Mothers; D016487:Parenting; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament
Childhood obesity; Eating; Mother-child interactions; Mutually Responsive Orientation; Observations