Using Positive Parent-child Interactions as an Alternative Reinforcer to Promote Healthier Eating Among Young Children
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- High Food Reinforcement
- Sponsor
- State University of New York at Buffalo
- Enrollment
- 33
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Child's maximum schedule reached for parent-child interaction
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 3 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The obesity epidemic continues to be a major public health concern, with 38% of US adults and 17% of children obese. One factor that has been highlighted as a robust predictor of weight outcomes is the relative reinforcing value (RRV) of food, or how rewarding one finds eating compared to alternative activities. An emerging body of literature has built upon the observed relationship between the RRV of food and weight by hypothesizing that the promotion of alternative reinforcers, or rewarding activities that could take the place of eating, offers a novel approach to decreasing excess energy intake and combatting obesity. We aim to integrate distinct bodies of literature and fill a gap in the evidence by testing whether parenting intervention messages delivered and practiced in the context of shared activities can decrease the RRV of food by making parent-child interactions more rewarding. The ultimate goal of this research is to demonstrate that such an intervention can increase children's motivation to interact with their parent instead of eating a favorite food, demonstrating the potential for positive parent-child interactions to become an alternative source of pleasure.
Detailed Description
The modern environment is obesity-promoting, with easy access to palatable, energy-dense foods and appealing sedentary activities. Despite this overarching environment, some individuals are able to maintain a normal weight status, suggesting that there are individual differences in susceptibility to obesity-promoting environments. The RRV of food captures individual differences in the motivation to eat by measuring how hard individuals will work for access to food versus other activities, and it has been shown to predict weight outcomes among infants, children, and adults. In a pilot study with infants, Kong, Eiden, Epstein, et al. demonstrated support for this hypothesis as providing infants and parents with access to group music classes increased infants' reinforcing values of music relative to food. Compared to other age groups, less research has been conducted on the RRV of food in preschool children. Filling this gap in the literature is important, as the preschool period is a period of drastic transitions, including extensive learning of food preferences and habits. Studies have also shown that obesity during adolescence is more likely among children who are already overweight by age 5, further highlighting the importance of innovative approaches to childhood obesity prevention prior to school entry. In the proposed study, we aim to bring together the literature on food reinforcement and the literature on parenting interventions in early childhood by promoting positive, rewarding parent-child interactions as a novel alternative reinforcer to decrease the RRV of food. Positive parenting can be defined as sensitive, responsive parenting, where parents' responses are appropriate for and contingent upon the child's cues and developmental level. This style of parenting early in life has been linked to positive cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes in adolescence and beyond. The focus of the present study is to assess the initial efficacy of the present parenting intervention, as well as its feasibility. This study will pave the way for future testing of this intervention's effects on the RRV of food and other positive developmental and health outcomes.
Investigators
Stephanie Anzman-Frasca
Associate Professor
State University of New York at Buffalo
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Child is 4-5 years old
- •Parent/guardian is 18 years of age or older
- •Child is not diagnosed with a serious physical or mental health condition that precludes participation
- •At least one of the child's parents/guardians are overweight/obese based on self-reported height and weight. This is intended to facilitate recruitment of children at risk for obesity, given the overarching goals of this research.
- •Parent and child are English speaking
Exclusion Criteria
- •The child is outside the age range of 4-5 years
- •Child is diagnosed with a serious physical or mental health condition that precludes participation
- •Parent/guardian \<18 years old
- •None of the child's parents/legal guardians overweight/obese based on self-reported height and weight
- •Parent or child not English speaking
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Child's maximum schedule reached for parent-child interaction
Time Frame: Week 6 (post-test)
Computer-based RRV task where child can earn portions of snacks and/or time doing an activity of choice with parent
Child's relative reinforcing value of food versus parent-child interaction
Time Frame: Week 6 (post-test)
Computer-based RRV task where child can earn portions of snacks and/or time doing an activity of choice with parent
Child's maximum schedule reached for food (food reinforcement)
Time Frame: Week 6 (post-test)
Computer-based RRV task where child can earn portions of snacks and/or time doing an activity of choice with parent
Change in child's maximum schedule reached for parent-child interaction
Time Frame: Week 2 (baseline), Week 6 (post-test)
Computer-based RRV task where child can earn portions of snacks and/or time doing an activity of choice with parent
Change in child's relative reinforcing value of food versus parent-child interaction
Time Frame: Week 2 (baseline), Week 6 (post-test)
Computer-based RRV task where child can earn portions of snacks and/or time doing an activity of choice with parent
Change in child's maximum schedule reached for food (food reinforcement)
Time Frame: Week 2 (baseline), Week 6 (post-test)
Computer-based RRV task where child can earn portions of snacks and/or time doing an activity of choice with parent
Secondary Outcomes
- Parent-reported parenting efficacy(Week 10 (follow-up))
- Child overall behavioral difficulties(Week 10 (follow-up))
- Parent-reported nurturance in parenting(Week 10 (follow-up))
- Parent-reported parenting satisfaction(Week 10 (follow-up))
- Child peer relationships problems(Week 10 (follow-up))
- Observations of warm and sensitive parenting(Week 6 (post-test))
- Observations of child prosocial behavior(Week 6 (post-test))
- Parent-reported structure in parenting(Week 10 (follow-up))
- Child self-regulation(Week 6 (post-test))
- Child total behavioral difficulties(Week 6 (post-test))
- Child prosocial behavior(Week 10 (follow-up))