Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026
08:59
The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs
Published on: October 13, 2017
Parental feeding practices predict authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles
Laura Hubbs-Tait1, Tay Seacord Kennedy, Melanie C Page
1Department of Human Development and Family Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078-6122, USA. laura.hubbs@okstate.edu <laura.hubbs@okstate.edu>
Journal of the American Dietetic Association
|July 1, 2008
Summary
Parental feeding practices are linked to general parenting styles. Understanding these connections is key for effective interventions targeting child feeding behaviors and family dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Child development and nutrition science.
- Parenting styles and feeding practices research.
Background:
- Parental feeding practices are often studied independently.
- Linking feeding practices to broader parenting styles can enhance intervention effectiveness by addressing underlying family dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To predict general parenting styles from specific parental feeding practices.
- To test hypotheses on the relationships between six feeding practices (restriction, pressure to eat, responsibility, monitoring, modeling, encouraging) and authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles.
Main Methods:
- Utilized baseline data from a randomized-controlled intervention study.
- Collected data from 239 parents of first-grade children using questionnaires on feeding practices and parenting styles.
- Employed correlation and regression analyses to examine relationships.
Main Results:
- Parental feeding practices explained a significant portion of the variance in parenting styles (21% authoritative, 15% authoritarian, 8% permissive).
- Specific feeding practices were identified as significant predictors for each parenting style.
- Confirmed hypotheses regarding the positive and negative associations between feeding practices and parenting styles.
Conclusions:
- Parental feeding practices are predictive of general parenting styles in young children.
- Interventions focused on improving child feeding must consider and address underlying parenting styles for optimal success.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Parenting Styles
Diana Baumrind's four parenting styles — authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful, and permissive — each influence children's socio-emotional development differently.
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
01:24Attachment Styles
Jeffrey Simpson's attachment theory suggests that early caregiver relationships shape lasting patterns of behavior and emotional regulation, known as attachment styles. These patterns are organized along two key dimensions: self-esteem and interpersonal trust. The intersection of these dimensions produces four primary attachment styles that typically persist throughout life and significantly influence how individuals form and maintain relationships.Secure Attachment StyleIndividuals with a...
01:28Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Parent-child interactions lay the foundation for how we understand relationships throughout life. These interactions are not uniform across families; instead, they are shaped by a range of environmental, emotional, and behavioral factors unique to each caregiver-child dynamic. Social psychologists study these early relationships to understand how patterns formed in infancy influence social functioning and interpersonal behavior in adulthood.Attachment Theory and Early Relational ModelsJohn...
03:34Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Attachment is a long-standing connection or bond with others. While Attachment Theory was conceived in developmental psychology to describe infant-caregiver bonding, it's been extended into adulthood to include romantic relationships.
01:28Hazan and Shaver's Attachment Styles
Attachment theory, developed initially to explain infant–caregiver bonds, has been extended to illuminate patterns of intimacy in adult romantic relationships. Psychologists Cindy Hazan and Phillip Shaver proposed that the attachment styles observed in infancy form a framework for how individuals approach emotional closeness and conflict in adulthood. These attachment styles—secure, avoidant, and anxious—are linked to enduring patterns of behavior and emotional regulation in adult relationships.
01:18Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Self-esteem, a crucial component of psychological development, is significantly shaped by familial experiences. The early parent-child relationship serves as a foundational influence on a child's self-concept, with long-lasting effects extending into adolescence and adulthood.Parental Behaviors and Early Self-Esteem FormationEmpirical studies have identified four principal parental behaviors that foster healthy self-esteem in children. These include expressions of acceptance, affection, and...