Author: Angela Elizabeth MielkePublisher:
ISBN:
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 516
Book Description
The relationships between child weights status, self-concept, and child feeding were examined in a sample of Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic children ranging in age from five to eleven-years-old. Parents from the Stanley British Primary School and the Columbian Elementary School were recruited for participation in the study. Questionnaires consisted of psychosocial measures used to assess both childrens' and parents' psychological functioning. In addition, psychosocial information was obtained from children in an attempt to assess their point of view and included the child's multidimensional self-concept. Among the Hispanic parental participants, acculturation level was also obtained (Hazuda et al., 1988). Overall, child's weight does not appear to have as much of an impact on self-concept as initially anticipated. Our study found that as weight increased in children, aged five to eleven, cognitive competence declined. An area that appears to have a profound impact on a child's self-concept is ethnicity; however, because the two cohorts were not matched for socioeconomic status, parental education level appears to be a driving force in this relationship. Overall, the Non-Hispanic White children in our sample showed more positive self-concept than Hispanic children in our sample. In addition, when children relied more on family interactions and feedback to compose their self-concept, younger Hispanic children fare better than older Hispanic children. Parent education level has a substantial impact on child feeding and a child's self-concept. Parents who were more educated endorsed lower levels of control in their child feeding. Cognitive competence, athletic competence, peer acceptance, physical appearance, and behavioral conduct also improved in children eight to eleven years of age, as fathers were more educated. Similarly, Hispanic parents in our sample who were more acculturated reported lower degrees of control in child feeding. In our study, Hispanic parents who were more educated were also more acculturated. With this in mind, devoting resources toward assisting our Hispanic population to acculturate, by opening doors to education, encouraging completion of school, and facilitating the acquirement of more lucrative jobs, is a possible mechanism to induce change in the obesity crisis through the association of healthier more moderate child feeding.
