Does optimal parenting style help offspring maintain healthy weight into mid-life?

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

卷:123

Article

Chen, Ying^1,2  Kawachi, Ichiro N.³  Berkman, Lisa F.^2,3,4,5  Trudel-Fitzgerald, Claudia^3,6  Kubzansky, Laura D.^3,6 

[1] Harvard Univ, Inst Quantitat Social Sci, Human Flourishing Program, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

[2] Harvard TH Chan Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Epidemiol, Boston, MA USA

[3] Harvard TH Chan Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Social & Behav Sci, Boston, MA USA

[4] Harvard TH Chan Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Global Hlth & Populat, Boston, MA USA

[5] Harvard Univ, Ctr Populat & Dev Studies, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA

[6] Harvard TH Chan Sch Publ Hlth, Lee Kum Sheung Ctr Hlth & Happiness, Boston, MA USA

关键词: Parenting styles;    Parental warmth;    Parental control;    Body weight;    Lifecourse;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.001

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

An authoritative parenting style is generally associated with healthier body weight in children and adolescents. However, whether the protective effect of an authoritative style on offspring body weight may persist into adulthood has seldom been investigated. In this study we examined the longitudinal association between parenting style and body mass index (BMI) change in mid-life. Longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States Study (N = 3929) were analyzed using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for a range of relevant covariates. Parenting styles were assessed at phase I (1995-1996) using items measuring parental warmth and control, while BMI was assessed at phases I and II (2004-2006). Four parenting styles were derived following prior research: authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved styles. Compared to an authoritative style, an authoritarian style was associated with 14% higher increase in the standardized BMI change score (beta = 0.14, 95% confidence interval: 0.03, 0.26). While there was suggestive evidence that an uninvolved versus authoritative style might also be associated with greater BMI increase, we found no differences between a permissive and authoritative style. This study suggested that the protective effect of an authoritative parenting style on offspring body weight may persist well into mid-life, particularly as compared to the authoritarian style and possibly the uninvolved style. Such work may reinforce the importance of a public health focus on improving parenting practices and suggest the value of implementing parenting programs, as one strategy for increasing the likelihood that individuals can maintain healthy weight well into adulthood.

【 授权许可】

Free