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The role of child temperament in parental child feeding practices and attitudes using a sibling design

M Greg Horn1, Amy T Galloway, Rose Mary Webb

  • 1Department of Psychology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC 28608, USA. ghorn@wakehealth.edu

Appetite
|July 12, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Child temperament influences parental feeding practices and attitudes. This study explored how sibling temperament differences relate to how parents feed their children, finding significant links.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Family Studies
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Parental child feeding practices are part of a bidirectional parent-child relationship.
  • The role of child temperament in this dynamic is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between child temperament and parental feeding practices and attitudes.
  • To examine how sibling differences in temperament influence parental feeding behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a sibling design, collecting data from parents on pairs of siblings.
  • Parents (mothers and fathers) completed questionnaires on child temperament (Carey Temperament Scales) and feeding practices/attitudes (Child Feeding Questionnaire - CFQ).
  • Examined parental perceptions of each child's temperament and their feeding approaches.

Main Results:

  • Found positive correlations between fathers' reports of sibling temperaments.
  • Identified some patterns linking parental reports of sibling temperament to specific child feeding practices and attitudes.
  • Mothers' and fathers' perceptions of temperament for a single child were positively correlated.

Conclusions:

  • Child temperament appears to play a role in shaping parental feeding practices and attitudes.
  • Sibling design provides insights into differential parental treatment related to temperament.
  • Further research is warranted to fully elucidate the complex interplay between temperament and feeding dynamics.

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