There is growing awareness that mealtime behaviors of toddlers and their caregivers are influenced by cultural patterns. Comparing two convenience samples of low-income mothers in Mexico (N=160) and Michigan (N=134), this study employed English and Spanish language versions of the Child & Parent Mealtime Behavior Questionnaire developed for the Nutrition Education Aimed at Toddlers (NEAT) study to explore differences and similarities with respect to 5 key dimensions of mealtime behaviors: (1) caregiver insistence on controlling mealtime behaviors (5-item scale, Alpha: 0.70), (2) caregiver emphasis on social interaction (7-item scale, Alpha: 0.70), (3) caregiver tendency to become upset (4-item scale, Alpha: 0.78), (4) caregiver emphasis on child self-regulation (6-item scale, Alpha: 0.73), (5) child acceptance of new foods (3-item scale, Alpha: 73). Comparisons showed that Mexican mothers were much more likely to become upset with their toddlers (3.2 vs. 1.7 on a 5-point scale, p<0.01), while Michigan mothers tended to emphasize child self-regulation more (3.6 vs. 3.4, p<0.04). However, the latter difference appears be entirely due to differences in educational achievements, while differences in the caregivers' tendency to become upset persist even after accounting for the caregivers' age, education, employment status as well as the number children and adults living in the household. Other characteristic differences include the caregivers self-reported frequency of reading and playing with their toddlers, both of which were substantially higher among the Michigan mothers. Implications for intervention studies related to self-regulation theory are discussed.
Session #1223 - Graduate Student Poster Session
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)