1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The Longitudinal Effects of Parenting Style on Childhood Obesity Risk: Evidence from a Representative Birth Cohort in Quebec Lisa Kakinami,1 Tracie A. Barnett,2 Lise Gauvin,3 Louise Séguin,3 Gilles Paradis4 1Concordia University 2Institut nationale de la recherche scientifique 3University of Montreal 4McGill University
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
Background
Parenting style is associated with children’s body mass index (BMI), but its influence on overweight/obesity risk is less clear.
Objectives
To assess the longitudinal association between parenting style (measured at age 4 years) and risk of childhood overweight/obesity from age 5 to 12 years in the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD) birth-cohort.
Characteristic (at age 4) %
Parenting styles
Male
51%
Authoritative
29%
Overweight/Obese
26%
Authoritarian
22%
> High school edu (parent)
94%
Permissive
Single parent household
13%
Negligent
27%
Immigrant (parent)
12%
Living in poverty
19%
Although a slightly larger proportion (29%) of parents had an authoritative parenting style (characterized by being rational and affectionate), when the children were four years of age, proportions of the negligent, permissive, and authoritarian parenting styles were similar (27%, 22% and 22%, respectively)
Compared to children from authoritative parenting style households, children from authoritarian and permissive parenting style households were significantly more likely to be overweight or obese throughout childhood
Thus early childhood parenting style was associated with longitudinal risk of overweight/obesity as children enter early adolescence
Additional research investigating the processes through which parenting styles translate into higher risks of childhood overweight/obesity is needed.
Factor Analysis
Item
Permissive
Rational
Affectionate
Disciplinarian
In the past 12 months, how often:
… did your child get away without being punished
0.79
0.02
-0.06
0.05
… did you follow-through with punishing your child
0.74
-0.05
-0.08
-0.23
… was your child able to get out of a punishment
0.72
-0.02
0.20
0.03
… did you ignore it when your child broke the rules
0.51
-0.18
0.23
… did you play with your child
0.80
… do you do something special with your child
-0.01
0.78
-0.09
… do you talk or play with each other
0.71
0.16
0.04
When your child does something they were not supposed to:
… how often did you describe acceptable ways of behaving
0.87
0.08
... how often did you calmly discuss the problem
0.81
-0.12
… how often did you raise your voice, scold or yell
-0.03
0.01
… how often did you use physical punishment
0.70
METHODS
Study population:
Participants were from the QLSCD study (n=2,120), a representative sample of singleton births born in Quebec in 1998
Parenting style:
At age 4, parents were asked 11 questions regarding child interactions on 5-point Likert scales
BMI:
Based on measured height and weight. BMI calculated at ages 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, and 12. Overweight/obesity status based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention age- and sex- specific growth curves
Analysis:
Missing data handled with multiple imputation. Parameter estimates and standard errors from 50 imputed data sets combined to produce single estimates
Factor analysis identified four factors (labeled as: permissive, rational, affectionate, disciplinarian)
Cluster analysis identified 4 parenting styles consistent with Baumrind’s1 theory
Authoritative: Least permissive, most rational and affectionate
Authoritarian: Least rational, most disciplinarian
Permissive: Most permissive
Negligent: Least rational, least affectionate, and least disciplinarian
Risk of overweight/obese analyzed with generalized estimating equations, using unstructured error covariance
Covariates:
Age, sex, parental education, single- vs. two-parent households, maternal immigration status, living in poverty
REFERENCES
1Baumrind D. Child care practices anteceding three patterns of preschool behavior. Genet Psychol Monogr. Feb 1967;75(1):43-88.
GEE analysis
Compared to children from authoritative households, children with authoritarian, permissive, and negligent parents were 40% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.1, 1.7, p=0.002), 31%, (CI: 1.0, 1.6, p=0.02) and 17% (CI: 0.9, 1.4, p=0.15) more likely to be overweight or obese, respectively.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
TAB is supported through the Fonds de Recherche du Québec -- Santé.