Intergenerational Transmission of Child Feeding Practices

Lilac Lev-Ari, Ada H. Zohar, Rachel Bachner-Melman and Auriane Totah Hanhart
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Lilac Lev-Ari: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 4015000, Israel
Ada H. Zohar: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 4015000, Israel
Rachel Bachner-Melman: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 4015000, Israel
Auriane Totah Hanhart: Clinical Psychology Graduate Program, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 4015000, Israel

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: This study assessed the relationships between parents’ retrospective recollections of their mothers’ child feeding practices (CFP), current disordered eating (DE) and current CFP (how they now feed their children). 174 Israeli parents (136 mothers, 38 fathers; 40.1 ± 6.9 years of age) of children between the ages of 2 and 18, living at home, completed questionnaires online assessing demographics, retrospective recollections of the CFP that their mothers used when they were children, current CFP and current DE. Specific aspects of retrospectively recalled maternal CFP were significantly associated with the same aspects of current CFP. Current DE mediated the association between retrospectively recalled maternal CFP and current CFP and moderated the association between current concern about child’s weight and pressure for child to eat. Results highlight that the way adults pass on their feeding practices to their children is strongly influenced by their childhood recollections of their mothers’ concern about their weight, pressure for them to eat or restriction of their food intake. People often strive to behave differently from their parents, especially in the realm of food and eating. However, our findings suggest that parental CFP can become entrenched and can be passed on to our children.

Keywords: retrospective child feeding practices; current child feeding practices; eating disorder symptoms; Child Feeding Questionnaire; BMI (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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