Abstract
A father’s perception of his role or, how his partner views his role, at mealtimes influences his feeding practices is currently unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of father-reported maternal and paternal perceptions of the role of the father on child feeding practices, as well as child body weight. Biological fathers of varied racial, ethnic, education, and income backgrounds (n = 150) of preschool age children from a Northeastern state in the United States were interviewed one-on-one using the Role of the Father Questionnaire to assess a father’s perception of his role and of his partner’s perception of his role in mealtimes and The Child Feeding Questionnaire to assess paternal feeding practices. Height and weight for each father and child were measured. Linear regression was used to examine the relationship between the role of the father, paternal feeding practices and child BMI z-score. Overall, the findings revealed that only the father’s perception of his role at mealtimes was associated with higher perceived responsibility for child feeding (β = .033, p = 0.020), and lower use of controlling feeding practices, including pressure to eat (β = −.048, p = 0.029) and restriction (β = −.030, p = 0.05) and was not moderated by the father’s appraisal of his partner’s perception of his role at mealtimes. Thus, a father’s beliefs regarding his role at mealtimes, and not his views of the mother’s perception, may be related to his own feeding practices.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, S. M., & Hawkins, A. J. (1999). Maternal gatekeeping: Mothers’ beliefs and behaviors that inhibit greater father involvement in family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 199–212.
Belsky, J. (1984). The determinants of parenting: A process model. Child Development, 55, 83–96.
Birch, L., Fisher, J., Grimm-Thomas, K., Markey, C., Sawyer, R., & Johnson, S. (2001). Confirmatory factor analysis of the child feeding questionnaire: A measure of parental attitudes, beliefs, and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness. Appetite, 36, 201–210.
Blissett, J., & Haycraft, E. (2008). Are parenting style and controlling feeding practices related? Appetite, 50, 447–485.
Blissett, J., & Haycraft, E. (2011). Parental eating disorder symptoms and observations of mealtime interactions with children. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 70(4), 368–371.
Blissett, J., Meyer, C., & Haycraft, E. (2006). Maternal and paternal controlling feeding practices with male and female children. Appetite, 47, 212–219.
Bonney, J. F., Kelley, M. L., & Levant, R. F. (1999). A model of fathers’ behavioral involvement in child care in dual-earner families. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(3), 401.
Brann, L. S., & Skinner, J. D. (2005). More controlling child-feeding practices are found among parents of boys with an average body mass index compared with parents of boys with a high body mass index. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105, 1411–1416.
Burke, P. J., & Cast, A. D. (1997). Stability and change in the gender identities of newly married couples. Social Psychology Quarterly, 60, 277–290.
Cabrera, N., Tamis-LeMonda, C., Bradley, R., Hofferth, S., & Lamb, M. (2000). Fatherhood in the twenty-first century. Child Development, 71, 127–136.
Carper, J. L., Orlet Fisher, J., & Birch, L. L. (2000). Young girls’ emergy dietary restraint and disinhibition are related to parental control in child feeding. Appetite, 35, 121–129.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: Anthropometry procedures manual. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/nhanes2009-2010/current_nhanes_09_10.htm.
Clark, H. R., Goyder, E., Bissell, P., Blank, L., & Peters, J. (2007). How do parents’ child-feeding behaviours influence child weight? Implications for childhood obesity policy. Journal of Public Health (Oxford, England), 29(2), 132–141. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdm012.
Coley, R. L., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (1999). Stability and change in paternal involvement among urban african american fathers. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(3), 416.
Drucker, R. R., Lawrence, D., Hammer, W., Agras, S., & Bryson, S. (1999). Can mothers influence their child’s eating behavior? Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 20, 88–92.
Fagan, J., & Barnett, M. (2003). The relationship between maternal gatekeeping, paternal competence, mothers’ attitudes about the father role, father involvement. Journal of Family Issues, 24, 1020–1043.
Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A., & Buchner, A. (2007). G* power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191.
Fisher, J., & Birch, L. (1999). Restricting access to foods and children’s eating. Appetite, 32, 405–419.
Geng, G., Zhu, Z., Suzuki, K., Tanaka, T., Ando, D., Sato, M., & Yamagata, Z. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis of the child feeding questionnaire (CFQ) in japanese elementary school children. Appetite, 52(1), 8–14.
Grossman, F., Pollack, W., & Golding, E. (1988). Fathers and children: Predicting the quality and quantity of fathering. Developmental Psychology, 24, 82–91.
Haycraft, E., & Blissett, J. (2008). Controlling feeding practices and psychopathology in a non-clinical sample of mothers and fathers. Eating Behaviors, 9, 484–492.
Hofferth, S. (1998). Healthy environments, healthy children: Children in families. Unpublished. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Horodynski, M., & Arndt, M. J. (2005). “Eating-together” mealtimes with African–American fathers and their toddlers. Applied Nursing Research, 18(2), 106–109.
Hurley, K. M., Black, M. M., Papas, M. A., & Caulfield, L. E. (2008). Maternal symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety are related to nonresponsive feeding styles in a statewide sample of WIC participants. The Journal of Nutrition, 138(4), 799-805.
Johannsen, D., Johannsen, N., & Specker, B. (2006). Influence of parents’ eating behaviors and child feeding practices on children’s weight status. Obesity, 14, 431–439.
Kaur, H., Li, C., Nazir, N., Choi, W. S., Resnicow, K., Birch, L. L., & Ahluwalia, J. S. (2006). Confirmatory factor analysis of the child-feeding questionnaire among parents of adolescents. Appetite, 47(1), 36–45.
Khandpur, N., Blaine, R. E., Fisher, J. O., & Davison, K. K. (2014). Fathers’ child feeding practices: A review of the evidence. Appetite, 78, 110–121.
Kuczmarski, R. J., Ogden, C. L., Guo, S. S., Grummer-Strawn, L. M., Flegal, K. M., Mei, Z., & Johnson, C. L. (2002). 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: Methods and development. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 11. Data from the National Health Survey, 246, 1–190.
Lamb, M. (2008). The history of research on father involvement. Marriage & Family Review, 29, 23–42.
Lerman, R., & Sorensen, E. (2000). Father involvement with their nonmarital children: Patterns, determinants, and effects on their earnings. Marriage & Family Review, 29(2–3), 137–158.
Loth, K., MacLehose, R., Fulkerson, J., Crow, S., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2013). Food-related parenting practices and adolescent weight status: A population-based study. Pediatrics, 131, e1443–e1450.
Mallan, K. M., Daniels, L. A., Nothard, M., Nicholson, J. M., Wilson, A., Cameron, C. M., et al. (2014a). Dads at the dinner table. A cross-sectional study of Australian fathers’ child feeding perceptions and practices. Appetite, 73, 40–44.
Mallan, K. M., Nothard, M., Thorpe, K., Nicholson, J. M., Wilson, A., Scuffham, P., & Daniels, L. (2014b). The role of fathers in child feeding: Perceived responsibility and predictors of participation. Child: Care, Health and Development, 40(5), 715–722.
McBride, B., Brown, G., Bost, K., Shin, N., Vaughn, B., & Korth, B. (2005). Paternal identity, maternal gatekeeping, and father involvement. Family Relations, 54, 360–372.
McBride, B. A., & Rane, T. R. (1997). Role identity, role investments, and paternal involvement: Implications for parenting programs for men. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12, 173–197.
Musher-Eizenman, D., de Lauzon-Guillain, B., Holub, S., Leporc, E., & Charles, M. (2006). Child and parent characteristics related to parental feeding practices. A cross-cultural examination in the US and france. Appetite, 52, 89–95.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2012). Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999–2010. JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, 307(5), 483–490. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.40.
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the united states, 2011–2012. JAMA, 311(8), 806–814.
Orrell-Valente, J. K., Hill, L. G., Brechwald, W. A., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Bates, J. E. (2007). “Just three more bites”: An observational analysis of parents’ socialization of children’s eating at mealtime. Appetite, 48(1), 37–45.
Palkovitz, R. (1984). Parental attitudes and fathers’ interactions with their 5-month-old infants. [null]. Developmental Psychology, 20, 1054–1060.
Parke, R. (2008). Father involvement. Marriage & Family Review, 29, 43–58.
Pasley, K., Futris, T. G., & Skinner, M. L. (2002). Effects of commitment and psychological centrality on fathering. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(1), 130–138.
Pleck, J. H., & Masciadrelli, B. P. (2004). Paternal involvement by U.S. residential fathers: Levels, sources, and consequences. In M. Lamb (Ed.), The role of the father in child development (4th ed., pp. 222–271). New York: Wiley.
Rane, T. R., & McBride, B. A. (2000). Identity theory as a guide to understanding fathers’ involvement with their children. Journal of Family Issues, 21, 347–366.
Sherry, B., McDivitt, J., Birch, L. L., Cook, F. H., Sanders, S., Prish, J. L., & Scanlon, K. S. (2004). Attitudes, practices, and concerns about child feeding and child weight status among socioeconomically diverse white, hispanic, and african-american mothers. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 104(2), 215–221.
Spruijt-Metz, D., Lindquist, C., Birch, L., Fisher, J., & Goran, M. (2002). Relation between mothers’ child-feeding practices and children’s adiposity. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 75, 581–586.
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Cabrera, N. (1999). Perspectives on father involvement: Research and policy. Social Policy Report, Society for Research in Child Development, 13, 1–25.
Tanner, C., Peterson, A., & Fraser, S. (2014). Food, fat and family: Thinking fathers through mothers’ words. Women’s Studies International Forum, 44, 209–219.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. (2014). Pediatric BMI z-score calculator. Retrieved from http://stokes.chop.edu/web/zscore/.
Tschann, J. M., Gregorich, S. E., Penilla, C., Pasch, L. A., de Groat, C. L., Flores, E., et al. (2013). Parental feeding practices in mexican american families: Initial test of an expanded measure. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 10, 6-5868-10-6. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-10-6.
Zhang, L., & McIntosh, W. A. (2011). Children’s weight status and maternal and paternal feeding practices. Journal of Child Health Care : For Professionals Working with Children in the Hospital and Community, 15(4), 389–400. doi:10.1177/1367493511414448.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vollmer, R.L., Adamsons, K., Foster, J.S. et al. Investigating Relationships Between Paternal Perception of the Role of the Father and Paternal Feeding Practices. J Child Fam Stud 24, 3734–3741 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0181-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0181-z