July 2010

Parenting Style and Family Meals: Cross-Sectional and 5-Year Longitudinal Associations

JERICA M. BERGE, PhD; MELANIE WALL, PhD; DIANNE NEUMARK-STAINZER, PhD, MPH, RD; NICOLE LARSON, PhD, MPH, RD; MARY STORY PhD

The purpose of this original research study was to test cross-sectional and 5-year longitudinal associations between parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and neglectful) and the frequency of family meals among adolescents. The following research questions were addressed: Is parenting style associated with the frequency of family meals? Does parenting style predict the frequency of family meals longitudinally/. And, which specific parenting styles serve as risk factors or protective factors in relation to the frequency of family meals?

For the purpose of this study, parenting style was considered a characteristic of a parent that is relatively stable over time and constitutes the daily environmental and emotional for child rearing. The four classic parenting styles used in this study (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive and neglectful), are based on two dimensions; the degree to which parents respond to their children (responsiveness) and the degree to which parents make demands of their children (damandingness). Authoritative parents are characterized as empathetic and respectful of children’s opinions, but maintain clear boundaries/expectations (high responsiveness and demandingness). Authoritarian parents are characterized by a low degree of warmth toward their children and strict discipline (low responsiveness and high demandingness). Permissive parents are empathetic, but indulgent without discipline (high responsiveness and low demandingness). Lastly, neglectful parents are emotionally uninvolved and do not set rules or have expectations (low responsiveness and demandingness).

Data was collected from Project Eating Among Teens, a population-based study comprised of youth from diverse ethnic/racial and socioeconomic backgrounds. A total of 1,160 middle and high school students in 31 Minnesota schools completed in-class surveys in 1999 (Time 1) and mailed surveys in 2004 (Time 2), as well as anthropometric measurements. Within each survey questions were asked to assess the adolescent’s opinion of each parent’s parenting style and family meal frequency.

Multiple linear regression models were used to predict mean frequency of family meals at Time 1 and Time 2 from adolescent reports of parenting style (both mother and father). Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on both cohorts, but longitudinal analyses were only conducted on participants in middle school during first in-calls survey, due to lack of data from high schoolers

Cross-sectional results for adolescent girls indicated a positive association between maternal and paternal authoritative parenting style and frequency of family meals. For adolescent boys, maternal authoritative parenting style was associated with more frequent family meals. Longitudinal results indicated that authoritative parenting style predicted higher frequency of family meals 5 years later, but only between opposite sex parent/adolescent dyads (i.e. adolescent daughters of authoritative fathers claimed higher family meal frequency).

Berge, J. M., Wall, M., Neumark-Stainzer, D., Larson, N., Story, M. (2010). Parenting style and family meals: cross-sectional and 5-year longitudinal associations. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 110(7), 1036-1042.