Cin C. Tan, Ph.D. - US grants

PROJECT SUMMARY Rapid weight gain and being overweight during early infancy have been associated with a greater risk for obesity during childhood and into adulthood. Thus, prevention efforts are much needed during infancy. Classic predictors of obesity during infancy such as breastfeeding and the timing of introduction of solids (i.e., after six months of age) have failed to demonstrate a protective effect. Hence, researchers and interventionists have moved their focus to maternal sensitivity to child cues. However, our understanding of the associations between maternal sensitivity to infant feeding cues and infant obesity risk is limited, as most prior studies focused on older children, with only a handful examining infancy. Studies with mothers of infants were mainly based on self-report surveys and/or used a cross-sectional design, which limit interpretation. No studies have observed maternal sensitivity to infant cues during naturalistic feeding interactions to investigate whether such maternal behavior is protective against rapid weight gain in infancy. In addition, most prior work has not considered the behavior of the infants themselves during the feeding interaction. Better understanding of the nature of the maternal-infant feeding interaction is critical for identifying maternal and infant behaviors that protect against obesity risk. Further, the correlates (e.g., maternal weight, child temperament) of maternal- infant feeding interactions are unknown. Understanding the correlates of observed maternal-infant feeding interaction would allow better identification of families and infants who are most at-risk. In the proposed study, we will leverage videotaped data from an ongoing longitudinal study to better understand maternal-infant behaviors during a naturalistic feeding interaction. Specifically, we will code maternal and infant behaviors at age 2 months using the well-validated and reliable Nursing Child Assessment Training (NCAST) Feeding Scale. The NCAST Feeding Scale has been used in various disciplines to capture maternal-infant feeding behaviors to predict child social-emotional and cognitive development, yet there is a lack of work investigating the associations between the NCAST Feeding Scale and obesity risk. The aims of the proposed study are: Aim 1. To describe maternal (i.e., sensitivity to infants' cues, responsiveness to infants' distress, social- emotional and cognitive growth fostering) and infant behaviors (i.e., clarity of feeding cues and responsiveness to caregiver) during a naturalistic feeding interaction at age 2 months. Aim 2. To examine whether maternal (weight, depressive symptoms, stress levels) and infant characteristics (sex and temperament) are associated with observed maternal and infant feeding behaviors at age 2 months. Aim 3. To examine whether observed maternal and infant behaviors at age 2 months, controlling for maternal and infant characteristics, predict weight status (weight-for-length z-score (WFLz)) at age 12 months.

PROJECT SUMMARY Parents' feeding practices (i.e., controlling versus autonomy-promoting) are associated with child obesity risk. Yet extant work examining factors such as parent obesogenic eating behaviors and concern about child weight in relation to child feeding has only focused on one parent, typically the mother. The potential influence of the parent's partner in shaping family feeding practices is rarely considered. In other words, the current conceptual model is limited to an individual-level, instead of a dyadic conceptual or analytic approach. This limitation prevents us from conceptualizing the family as a complex, integrated whole in which both parents' child feeding practices are interdependent and thus possibly influenced by each other's characteristics. For example, a parent whose partner is concerned about a child's unhealthy eating may engage in more controlling feeding in response to his/her partner' concerns, despite not having such concerns him or herself. Interdependence theory offers a novel way to model these interactive processes in child feeding. According to interdependence theory, any given individual outcome (e.g., child feeding) in a relationship should be conceptualized as the independent and conjoint effects of the two members' characteristics. When these ideas are applied to parent dyads in relation to child feeding, it is reasonable to hypothesize that parents' feeding practices should be related to their own characteristics (actor effect), partner characteristics (partner effect), and the interaction or mutuality between two parents' characteristics (interaction effect). More nuanced understanding of how individual parent own obesogenic eating behaviors and concern about child weight dyadically interact to shape their own and their partners' child feeding practices may be critical in order to design and implement intervention strategies that address the development of adaptive feeding practices across the entire family system to reduce child obesity risk. Thus, we will use the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine the independent and interdependent contributions of parent characteristics in relation to their child feeding practices. Aims are, among couples (opposite-sex parents and same-sex parents) with children from 3 to 5 years of age: Aim 1: To examine actor and partner effects of parent obesogenic eating (i.e., restrained, external, and emotional) and concern about child weight on child feeding practices (i.e., controlling vs. autonomy- promoting feeding). We hypothesize that individual parent factors will relate to their own (actor effect) and their partner's (partner effect) feeding practices. Aim 2: To examine the interaction effect of parent obesogenic eating and concern about child weight on child feeding practices. We hypothesize that the interaction effect of parent factors will independently relate to feeding practices over and above actor and partner effects.

PROJECT SUMMARY Parents' feeding practices (i.e., controlling versus autonomy-promoting) are associated with child obesity risk. Yet extant work examining factors such as parent obesogenic eating behaviors and concern about child weight in relation to child feeding has only focused on one parent, typically the mother. The potential influence of the parent's partner in shaping family feeding practices is rarely considered. In other words, the current conceptual model is limited to an individual-level, instead of a dyadic conceptual or analytic approach. This limitation prevents us from conceptualizing the family as a complex, integrated whole in which both parents' child feeding practices are interdependent and thus possibly influenced by each other's characteristics. For example, a parent whose partner is concerned about a child's unhealthy eating may engage in more controlling feeding in response to his/her partner' concerns, despite not having such concerns him or herself. Interdependence theory offers a novel way to model these interactive processes in child feeding. According to interdependence theory, any given individual outcome (e.g., child feeding) in a relationship should be conceptualized as the independent and conjoint effects of the two members' characteristics. When these ideas are applied to parent dyads in relation to child feeding, it is reasonable to hypothesize that parents' feeding practices should be related to their own characteristics (actor effect), partner characteristics (partner effect), and the interaction or mutuality between two parents' characteristics (interaction effect). More nuanced understanding of how individual parent own obesogenic eating behaviors and concern about child weight dyadically interact to shape their own and their partners' child feeding practices may be critical in order to design and implement intervention strategies that address the development of adaptive feeding practices across the entire family system to reduce child obesity risk. Thus, we will use the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine the independent and interdependent contributions of parent characteristics in relation to their child feeding practices. Aims are, among couples (opposite-sex parents and same-sex parents) with children from 3 to 5 years of age: Aim 1: To examine actor and partner effects of parent obesogenic eating (i.e., restrained, external, and emotional) and concern about child weight on child feeding practices (i.e., controlling vs. autonomy- promoting feeding). We hypothesize that individual parent factors will relate to their own (actor effect) and their partner's (partner effect) feeding practices. Aim 2: To examine the interaction effect of parent obesogenic eating and concern about child weight on child feeding practices. We hypothesize that the interaction effect of parent factors will independently relate to feeding practices over and above actor and partner effects.