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Item Associations between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status and disordered eating behaviors: findings from a population-based study(2013-04) Loth, Katie AnnObjectives and Aims: The objective of this dissertation is to explore the types of food-related parenting practices utilized by a racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse population of parent-adolescent pairs and to assess the relationship between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status and disordered eating behaviors. Background: There is a growing body of evidence that the family environment plays an integral role in contributing to child weight status and disordered eating behaviors, including dieting, unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors, and binge eating. Specifically, food-related parenting practices have been identified as a potentially significant correlate of weight status and weight-related behaviors among young children. However, unaddressed questions and inconsistencies in the literature both limit the generalizability of preliminary research findings and call into question exactly what food-related parenting practices parents should employ to best support a healthy weight and healthful weight-related behaviors in their adolescent children who are in the process of becoming more independent in making choices related to food and eating. This dissertation fills an important gap in the current literature by broadening the fields understanding of the association between food-related parenting practices and child weight-related outcomes to include an understanding of the nature of this relationship within an adolescent population and among racially/ethnically and socioeconomically diverse parent-adolescent dyads of different genders. The types of feeding strategies utilized within certain population-level subgroups were also examined. Methods: Data for this dissertation were drawn from two coordinated, population-based studies. EAT 2010 (Eating and Activity in Teens) was a population-based study of 2,793 [14.4 years old (SD= 2.0)] adolescents from 20 urban public schools in Minnesota designed to examine dietary intake, weight status and associated factors. Surveys and anthropometric measures were completed by adolescents during 2009-2010. Project F-EAT (Families and Eating and Activity Among Teens) was designed to examine factors within the family environment of potential relevance to adolescent weight-related behaviors. Survey data were collected via mail or phone from up to two parents (n=3,709) of the adolescents in EAT 2010; all parents in Project EAT 2010 were invited to participate in Project F-EAT and a response rate of 77.6% was achieved. Separate linear regression models were fit to estimate the associations between parental report of pressure-to-eat and food restriction and 1) parental demographic characteristics; and 2) adolescent weight status. Adjusted means, difference in means, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Poisson regression models were fit to estimate the association between parental pressure-to-eat and food restriction and adolescent disordered eating behaviors (e.g., dieting, unhealthy and extreme weight control behaviors, and binge eating). Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. To assess potential effect measure modification of the relationship between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight and disordered eating behaviors by race/ethnicity or income, interaction terms were included in the models. Further, because of our interest in examining the role of gender in the association between food-related parenting practices and adolescent disordered eating behaviors, all analyses were stratified by parent and adolescent gender; potential effect modification by parent and adolescent gender was also examined. In order to account for potential clustering of parent responses when two parents of the same child responded to the survey, a robust variance estimator was used to correct for within cluster variance in all models. Results: Associations with demographic characteristics. The mean level of overall parental food restriction was 2.51 [(scale range: 1 (low control) to 4 (high control)] indicating that, on average, parents within the sample reported engaging in a moderate level of overall food restriction with their adolescent children. Level of restrictive feeding was found to differ significantly by both race/ethnicity and household income, after adjustment for other sociodemographic characteristics, with parents in racial/ethnic minority subgroups and parents with a low household income utilizing the highest levels of food restriction. No significant differences were seen in parent self-report of restrictive feeding practices by parent gender, education level or employment status. The mean level of overall pressure-to-eat reported by parents was 2.21 indicating that on average, parents within the sample reported using a low-to-moderate level of pressure-to-eat with their adolescent child. Parental report of pressure-to-eat feeding strategies varied significantly by parent gender, race/ethnicity, education level and employment status and household income. Fathers reported significantly higher levels of pressure-to-eat than mothers. Non-white parents utilized significantly higher levels of pressure-to-eat compared to white parents. A significant decreasing trend was found between level of parental education and use of pressure-to-eat strategies with parents reporting at least some college education reporting the lowest use of this strategy. No significant differences were seen in parent self-report of pressure-to-eat feeding practices by employment status. Associations with adolescent weight status. Mean food restriction levels were significantly higher among parents of overweight and obese adolescents as compared to non-overweight adolescents. On the other hand, levels of pressure-to-eat were significantly higher among parents of non-overweight adolescents. Fathers were more likely than mothers to engage in pressure-to-eat behaviors and boys were more likely than girls to be on the receiving end of parental pressure-to-eat. Parental report of restriction did not differ significantly by parent or adolescent gender. No significant interactions by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status were seen in the relationship between restriction or pressure-to-eat and adolescent weight status. This finding suggests that while the extent to which parents adopt a controlling approach to child feeding is known to differ across families,1–4 specifically with regard to race/ethnicity or SES, the associations between food-related parenting practices and child weight status in the current population did not differ based on the race/ethnicity or SES of the parent. Associations with adolescent disordered eating behaviors. Adolescent boys exposed to higher levels of pressure-to-eat or food restriction were significantly more likely to report engaging in dieting and disordered eating behaviors compared to boys exposed to lower levels of pressure-to-eat or food restriction. For example, for every one unit increase in food restriction reported by mothers, boys were two times more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors. Examination of the association between food-related parenting practices and dieting and disordered eating behaviors among girls yielded primarily null findings. However, analyses did reveal that for every one unit increase in food restriction reported by mothers, girls were at 1.34 times more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors. No significant interactions by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status were seen in the relationship between food restriction and pressure-to-eat and adolescent disordered eating behaviors. Conclusions: This dissertation added depth to a growing body of scientific literature by being the first research study to explore the specific types of food-related parenting practices utilized by parents of adolescents, as well as the first study to explore associations between food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status and endorsement of disordered eating behaviors. Findings indicate that use of controlling food-related parenting practices, such as pressuring children to eat and restricting children‟s intake, is common among parents of adolescents, particularly among parents in racial/ethnic minority subgroups, parents with less than a high school education, and parents with a low household income. Further, findings suggest that use of controlling practices is associated with higher weight status among adolescent girls and boys and greater risk of disordered eating behaviors among adolescent boys. Replication studies are needed to confirm these in other adolescent populations. Nonetheless, dietitians, physicians and other health care providers should take time to explore the types of food-related parenting practices utilized within the home and should educate parents on the role that their feeding practices may have in their adolescent‟s weight status and attitude toward food and eating. Clinicians should empower parents to promote a healthy weight and a healthy relationship with food for their teen by making nutritious food items readily available within their home, modeling healthy food choices, and encouraging adolescent‟s autonomy in self-regulation of food intake. Additional qualitative and pilot studies are needed to better understand how to best conduct public health interventions aimed at changing food-related parenting practices. More research is also required to understand parental motivation for use of particular food-related parenting practices and to establish temporality of the observed associations.Item Children of the State: Children in the Child Welfare System, Minnesota. Executive Summary.(School of Social Work, University of Minnesota., 1992) Wattenberg, Esther; Cassidy, Donald W.Item Defining Excellence for School-Linked Services.(Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota, 1996) Wattenberg, Esther; Pearson, YvonneItem Development and Evaluation of a Cellular Phone Based Teen Driver Support System(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2009-08) Creaser, J.; Hoglund, R.; Manser, M.; Donath, M.Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers with speeding, seat belt non-compliance, alcohol involvement, and distractions serving as the primary contributors to this unacceptably high crash rate. In an effort to mitigate this situation, a prototype teen driver support system (TDSS) has been designed and developed. This computer-based system provides real-time feedback to teens regarding speed limit violations and warns of upcoming speed zone changes. A unique feature of this system is that speed limit feedback is relative to the speed limit posted on the roadway on which the teen is driving. By informing teens of speeding behavior, it is hoped that this system will reduce teen crash rates. This project includes a description of the TDSS features and specifications for how the TDSS operates using the Smart Phone technology. A small usability study was completed as part of the project where teen drivers (aged 18-19) drove with and without the system. Overall, the pilot study demonstrated that the TDSS could operate effectively within a vehicle driven by a teen driver. Warnings and messages were presented to the drivers and corresponding text messages were sent when drivers failed to alter their behavior in relation to a warning. The performance data trended in the direction expected, with the TDSS encouraging lower speeds and less speeding overall. The teen participants reported that very little mental effort was required to interact with the TDSS while driving, but they also reported the system increased their perceptions of stress while driving. The second phase of the study proposed the information that should be presented in the real-time text messages and to parents in a weekly report. A potential weekly report format is described. Finally, the project identified the issues associated with using the TDSS as an additional tool to support GDL programs.Item The positive deviance approach to childhood obesity and cardiometabolic risk in children living in low-income and racially and ethnically diverse households(2021-11) Nogueira de Brito, JuniaPediatric obesity is a highly prevalent public health problem, with children living in low-income and racially and ethnically diverse households being disproportionately affected. Food- and physical activity-related parenting practices may influence children’s weight. However, there is limited evidence about specific parenting practices that may be protective of childhood obesity among parents of children living in low-income and racially and ethnically diverse households. There is also limited evidence about longitudinal patterns of childhood adiposity and their associations with emerging cardiometabolic risk. The ‘positive deviance’ approach to childhood obesity provided a framework to characterize parenting practices associated with positive deviance and examine associations with emerging cardiovascular risk within low-income and racially and ethnically minoritized families. For manuscript 1, data were drawn from the Family Matters study to examine the association between several parenting practices and changes in child weight status over 18-months. The use of controlling food-related parenting practices was more common among parents of children identified as positive deviant relative to children with higher weight status, while parent-led weight-related conversations with their child were less common among children identified as positive deviant. For manuscript 2, data came from the NET-Works obesity prevention trial among children ages 2-4, which were followed to ages 7-11 in the NET-Works 2 study. This paper described the associations between BMI trajectories derived by group-based trajectory modeling and changes in biomarkers of cardiometabolic risk. A trajectory of increased BMI from early to middle childhood was associated with more adverse inflammatory and adipokine profiles in pre-adolescence compared to a trajectory of decreasing BMI over time. For manuscript 3, qualitative data from the Positive Deviance Project were used to identify parenting practices that might be protective of childhood obesity among children ages 2-5. The results suggested parents of children identified as positive deviant predominantly engaged in positive parenting practices relative to parents of children with higher weight status. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of positive parenting practices that may be protective for childhood obesity among families from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Additionally, it provides longitudinal evidence that children following an increased BMI trajectory that started as young as age 2 were associated with emerging dysregulation in cardiometabolic processes.Item Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of St. Louis County (MN) Intensive Family-Based Services Program.(Center for Community and Regional Research, 1996) Raschick, Michael; Ollhoff, TimothyItem School Social Workers' Relationships with parents: A critical incident field study(2008-12) Hansen, Eric WayneSchool social workers engage parents in helping relationships which benefit children's learning. The extant literature has been focused on school social worker-parent interventions, not on the relationship. This qualitative study uses the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to focus on the school social worker-parent relationship, and thereby begin to address this void in the literature. The study examined the experiences of school social workers and identified specific school social worker behaviors determined to be effective in building and sustaining relationships with parents. Data collection involved 18 one-to-one audio taped interviews with school social workers which were transcribed into texts. During analysis, critical incidents were identified which contained (a) a situation, (b) a behavior, and (c) an outcome. From the critical incidents, 38 school social worker behaviors were identified to be effective in building and maintaining relationships with parents. From these behaviors, three behavioral themes were identified that were present in at least 50% of the interviews. The three behavioral themes are: (a) communication behaviors, (b) showing care and concern behaviors, and (c) working within the school system. Based on the identified behavioral themes, competency standards for school social workers that may enhance their interactions with parents are suggested.Item Teachers‘ and parents‘ perceptions of parent volunteering in the context of charter school in the US public school setting(2011-06) Moroz, LarysaThe purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore and understand how teachers and parents perceive parent volunteering in the context of charter school in the US public school setting. The study strived to decipher the value of parent volunteering as parent involvement for the students‘ learning and social skills development in charter school setting and to elucidate the major factors that influence parent volunteering at school and how they affect the teachers‘ job performance. Eleven one-on-one, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers and parents at one of the Twin Cities charter school to understand the role of parent volunteering in the education realm. Epstein‘s theory of overlapping spheres of influence was used as a theoretical framework to understand and utilize the practices and activities that validate parental involvement at home, school and community. I examined the teachers' and parents‘ views on volunteering as one of the six types of parental involvement in Epstein‘s typology of parent involvement. Keywords: parentItem What Does Trust Have to Do with It? The Lived Experiences Of Parents Within the IEP Process: A Phenomenological Study(2018-04) Grocke, AdreaThe purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of parents involved in the IEP process. More specifically, the study explored how parents in the IEP process experience trust in their relationship with educational professionals. The two research questions addressed in this study were: What is the lived experience of parents involved in the IEP process? and How do parents in the IEP process experience trust? Data were collected through 90-minute semi-structured individual interviews with ten parents engaged in the IEP process. Participants in the study were parents of one or more children with an IEP, from school districts within a mid-sized city in the northern Midwest. For the purposes of this study “parent” refers to the adult who assumes parental roles and responsibilities for the child and has legal guardianship. In choosing the participants, convenience sampling was applied to identify the participants (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2012). Due to the convenience sampling, the homogeneity of the participants was a limitation of this study. The phenomenon focused on was trust as parents described their experiences in the IEP process. The analysis of the parents’ stories, reveals and verifies the significance of trust within the IEP process. In addition, the data analysis included a demographic questionnaire. Three overarching themes emerged in the analysis of the parent interviews that were integral to participants’ experiencing trust within the IEP process. The three themes consistent among the parents were communication, parent-teacher partnerships, and meeting the needs of their child.