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Heeman-Dissertation-11-23-2016.pdf (1.77 MB)

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A Social Cognitive Model of Parental Nutritional Communication and Parental Perceptions of Preschoolers’ Eating-Related Attitudes and Behaviors

Heeman, Vanessa Gette
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479862947145123

Abstract Details

2016, PHD, Kent State University, College of Communication and Information / School of Communication Studies.
This study examined how parents communicate with their preschool-aged children (aged 2 to 5) about nutrition and how such parent-child interactions can shape the way preschoolers think about and approach eating. Parents (N=202) reported on their typical nutritional communication with their preschoolers and their perceptions of preschoolers’ eating-related attitudes and behaviors. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that parents exchange both verbal nutritional messages (i.e., explanatory, punishing contingency, rewarding contingency, and restrictive) and nonverbal nutritional messages (i.e., healthy modeling, unhealthy modeling, and monitoring) with their preschool-aged children. Findings contribute to a more specific and comprehensive understanding of nutritional communication processes among parents and preschoolers and provide a new instrument for measuring parental nutritional communication. In addition, multiple regression analysis suggested that parental nutritional messages can influence parental perceptions of preschoolers’ eating-related attitudes and behaviors in both productive and maladaptive fashions. According to their parents’ perspectives, preschoolers were more likely to know that healthy eating is important and were more likely to care about the benefits of proper nutrition when their parents communicated using explanatory messages and healthy modeling messages. Preschoolers whose parents said that their children had these positive attitudes toward nutrition also were perceived to be more apt to engage in healthy eating patterns. Furthermore, parents’ healthy modeling messages were found to predict their perceptions of preschoolers’ healthy eating patterns, and parents’ unhealthy modeling messages predicted parental perceptions of preschoolers’ unhealthy eating patterns. Results add to theoretical and practical knowledge of the connections between parental nutritional communication and parental perceptions of preschoolers’ eating-related attitudes and behaviors.
Nichole Egbert, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Natalie Caine-Bish, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Jeffrey Child, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Catherine Goodall, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
122 p.
Communication
interpersonal communication; family communication; parent-child communication; parental communication; nutritional communication; preschoolers; preschool-aged children; eating attitudes; eating behaviors; social cognitive theory

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Heeman, V. G. (2016). A Social Cognitive Model of Parental Nutritional Communication and Parental Perceptions of Preschoolers’ Eating-Related Attitudes and Behaviors [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479862947145123

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Heeman, Vanessa. A Social Cognitive Model of Parental Nutritional Communication and Parental Perceptions of Preschoolers’ Eating-Related Attitudes and Behaviors. 2016. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479862947145123.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Heeman, Vanessa. "A Social Cognitive Model of Parental Nutritional Communication and Parental Perceptions of Preschoolers’ Eating-Related Attitudes and Behaviors." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1479862947145123

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1479862947145123
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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.