Longitudinal study of parenting practices and child overweight/obesity among low-income ethnic minority families

Background: Early positive parenting practices are critical for child health, including child weight status, an issue of major public health significance. The ways parenting practices change over time, how changes influence development of child overweight/obesity, and how aspects of maternal employment and availability relate to parenting practices and child weight status are particularly relevant for low-income ethnic and racial minority families who experience disproportionate rates of child overweight and obesity.;Methods: Integrating developmental, biosocial, and ecological frameworks, this dissertation used three waves of data from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study, a longitudinal study of predominantly low-income African-American and Latino families of children 0-4 years old at baseline, to address three analytic aims. Aim 1 examined parenting practice trajectories and maternal resources associated with mothers' parenting practices cross-sectionally and over a 6-year period in 1140 caregivers and children. Aim 2 evaluated how initial levels of and changes in maternal parenting practices influenced the development of child overweight/obesity over time (n=390). Aim 3 assessed the influences of maternal employment on maternal availability, parenting practices, and child weight status (n=364). Parenting practices included family routines, cognitive stimulation, authoritative discipline, corporal punishment, engaged parenting, and maternal responsiveness.;Results: Parenting practices changed significantly over time and were associated with maternal social and health resources cross-sectionally. Higher initial levels and increases in family routines among preschool children were associated with decreased odds of overweight/obesity onset (aOR: 0.22, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.67), which was not mediated by child self-regulation. Children of mothers who increased their work hours during the preschool years were approximately 2.5 times more likely to be overweight/obese at 7-11 years compared to children whose mothers did not change their work schedule (adjusted OR: 2.61, 96% C.I.: 1.10, 6.19). Decreased maternal availability partially mediated this association, but parenting practices did not.;Conclusion: Despite disadvantaged circumstances, mothers demonstrated positive improvements and developmental responsiveness in parenting practices over time. Both initial levels and increases in family routines reduced the odds of child overweight/obesity in middle childhood, whereas increased maternal employment elevated the risk. Helping low-income ethnic minority families establish and maintain consistent routines throughout early and middle childhood could have beneficial effects on preventing child overweight/obesity.