Citation

Morawska A, West F. J. Child Health Care 2013; 17(4): 375-386.

Affiliation

The University of Queensland, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1367493512462263

PMID

23711490

Abstract

Research has shown mixed findings about the relationship between parenting style and child lifestyle outcomes. This paper describes a cross-sectional study that aimed to clarify the relationship between ineffective parenting and childhood obesity by using multiple measures of child and family functioning. Sixty-two families with an obese child (aged four to 11 years) were matched with 62 families with a healthy weight child on key sociodemographic variables. Significant differences were found on several measures, including general parenting style, domain-specific parenting practices, and parenting self-efficacy (d = .53 to 1.96). Parents of obese children were more likely to use permissive and coercive discipline techniques, and to lack confidence in managing children's lifestyle behaviour. In contrast, parents of healthy weight children were more likely to implement specific strategies for promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Language: en