Do Parents with the Authoritative Feeding Style have Better Food Parenting Practices?

Abstract

The authoritative feeding style has been proposed to be the most desirable feeding style; however, few studies investigate how these parents may differ in their feeding behaviors compared to parents with other feeding styles. The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between parental feeding styles and food parenting practices. Parents of children aged 3 to 7 years of age (n=148) completed surveys to measure feeding style (Child Feeding Questionnaire) and food parenting practices (Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire). Linear regressions were used to test the study aim with the authoritative feeding style serving as the reference and parent race, ethnicity, and income as covariates. It was found that parents with the authoritarian (B = −.23, p = .05; B = .42, p = .05) and uninvolved feeding style (B = −.27, p = .05; B = −.51, p = .05) encouraged balance and variety and provided healthy foods in the home significantly less than parents with authoritative feeding style. Additionally, authoritarian feeding style (B = .74, p = .02) used food as a reward significantly more than parents with the authoritative feeding style. These results indicate that while parents with the authoritative feeding style reported better food parenting practices compared to parents with authoritarian or involved feeding styles, there were no differences in other important feeding behaviors, such as modeling, restriction, or pressure. Therefore, all parents, regardless of feeding style, may benefit from interventions aimed at improving feeding behaviors.Support or Funding InformationThis project was funded by Illinois State University's College of Applied Science and Technology University Research Grant.