Family Social Capital: Links to Weight-Related and Parenting Behaviors of Mothers with Young Children.

Virginia Quick,Kaitlyn Eck,Carol Byrd-Bredbenner,Colleen Delaney

doi:10.3390/nu13051428

Abstract

Family social capital includes the social relationships, values, and norms shared by a family and is positively linked with children’s mental and physical health status. This cross-sectional study addresses a gap in the literature related to family social capital vis-à-vis weight-related behaviors and home environments of 557 mothers and their young children (ages 2 to 9 years). Mothers completed an online survey comprised of valid, reliable questionnaires assessing family relationships and weight-related behavioral and home environment measures. The measures that determined family social capital (i.e., supportive, engaged parenting behaviors; family cohesion; family conflict; and family meal frequency) yielded distinct tertile groups that differed significantly (p < 0.001) on every family social capital measure with large effect sizes. Analysis of variance with Tukey post-hoc test revealed greater family social capital was linked to significantly better maternal health, dietary intake, physical activity, and sleep behavior. Additionally, maternal modeling of healthy eating and physical activity, child feeding practices, and home environments was higher in groups with greater family social capital. Child mental and physical health, physical activity, and sleep quality were better in families with greater family social capital. Findings suggest greater family social capital is linked to healthier weight-related behaviors and home environments. Future intervention studies should incorporate strategies to build family social capital and compare longitudinal outcomes to traditional interventions to determine the relative value of family social capital on health behaviors.

Highlights

The obesity epidemic is a serious worldwide concern that impairs the health and wellbeing of millions of adults and children
Mothers were grouped into tertiles based on their total family social capital scores
Scores on each scale were significantly higher in upper compared to lower tertiles indicating that family social capital was greater as tertile level incremented

Summary

Introduction

The obesity epidemic is a serious worldwide concern that impairs the health and wellbeing of millions of adults and children. Capital is typically thought of as economic (e.g., money, wealth), material (e.g., tools, possessions), and human (e.g., education, skills). Another type of capital, known as social capital, was conceptualized in Coleman’s social capital theory as the interpersonal relationships within social groups, such as families, neighborhoods, and communities, that facilitate access to resources (e.g., information, advice) needed to accrue resources and achieve certain goals [7]. The effect of social capital is considered crucial to providing children with access to opportunities that support their optimal development and positive outcomes [5,6,8,9,10]. Children’s social capital is transmitted primarily by the family [7]

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