Life Sciences Commons^™

“Return To Play”: The Impact Of, And Changes To, Ontario Children’S Physical Activity During Covid-19, Monika B. Szpunar Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation explored parents’ and their children’s perspectives of returning to play/sport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada, and assessed how children’s physical activity levels changed during COVID-19. To understand the initial impact of the pandemic, Study 1 (August 2020) explored the influence of family sociodemographic factors (e.g., housing type) and risk tolerance (using the validated Tolerance of Risk in Play Scale) on parents’ return to play/sport attitudes. Via interviews with parents (n = 9) and children (n = 12), Study 2 (December 2020 – January 2021) gathered participants’ experiences of getting active …

Development And Initial Validation Of The Parent And Family Engagement In Higher Education Measure, Michelle R. Mcnulty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the history of higher education in the United States, parents and family members of college students have often found themselves as obsolete to the postsecondary experience. Minimal research has been dedicated to understanding the experience of parents and family members of college students until the millennial generation began their collegiate years (Harper et al., 2012; Wartman & Savage, 2008). In consideration of a new generation of college students (i.e., Gen Z) and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, it is crucial to illuminate the complexities of parent and family engagement in higher education and the needs of …

Iranian Parents' Perceptions On Physical Activity For Their Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Sarvin Salar, Justin A. Haegele, Hassan Daneshmandi

Human Movement Sciences & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic is a remarkable health crisis that enforced most people to stay at home and quarantine for a period of time and seems to be having negative impacts on physical activity and mental health worldwide. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a deficit in social interaction characteristics, relationships, and stereotyped behaviors. This study examined Iranian parents’ perceptions of physical activity for their children with ASD during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: In this study, an explanatory qualitative methodology was used and data were collected via semi-structured phone interviews. The samples included 40 Iranian parents (aged …

Changes In Children's And Parents' Physical Activity Levels During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Literature Review, Kshitija Mundle

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Objectives: The purpose of this literature review was to gain an understanding of the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic and associated closures have had on the physical activity levels of children (ages 0-12) and their parents/guardians.

Methods: To identify relevant literature, a comprehensive database search was conducted. Specifically, studies including keywords: parents, children, physical activity, and COVID-19 and their related terms published between March 2020 and August 2021 were screened for inclusion.

Results: A number of articles have been published which suggest that structured/organized physical activities and team play opportunities have decreased during COVID-19 restrictions, while home-based unstructured play and …

A Qualitative Comparison Of Parent And Childcare Provider Perceptions Of Communication And Family Engagement In Children's Healthy Eating And Physical Activity, Danae Dinkel, Maggie Rasmussen, John Rech, Kailey Snyder, Dipti A. Dev

Journal Articles

Background

Parents and childcare providers play a substantial role in the development of health behaviours among the children they care for. In order to ensure the optimal growth and development of children, communication and family engagement in childcare is critical. Previous studies examining parent or provider perceptions about healthy eating or physical activity have explored these concepts individually and/or have only included only parents or providers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare childcare provider and parent perceptions of communication regarding healthy eating and physical activity as well as use of best practice strategies on family engagement for …

Examining Correlates Of Feeding Practices Among Parents Of Preschoolers, Deepa Srivastava, Lucy R. Zheng, Dipti Dev

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Background: Parent feeding practices play a critical role in children’s eating behaviors. Limited research has explored child-level correlates of parent feeding practices.

Aim: To identify correlates of feeding practices (responsive and controlling) among parents of preschoolers US.

Methods: Participants included parents (n = 273) of preschoolers (3–5 years), recruited from Early Care and Education settings (n = 24) located in a metropolitan city in the US. Analysis included descriptives, correlations, and multiple regression.

Results: For responsive feeding practices, positive associations included child’s weight with unintentional modeling (β = .17, 95% CI [0.12, 0.53]), child vegetable consumption with behavioral role modeling …

What Is The Underlying Cause Of Infantile Colic?, Tamar Itzkowitz

The Science Journal of the Lander College of Arts and Sciences

Infantile colic (IC) is an important area of current research due to the extreme distress it causes parents and their infants. It is vital that a cause is isolated so that treatment can be found because IC is a risk factor for child abuse. In this paper, two major theories were posed to elucidate the underlying cause of IC—the gastrointestinal model and the neurological model. The gastrointestinal model suggests that IC stems from issues such as an immature gut. The neurological model suggests that infantile migraines are the causative agents of IC. Both theories supply correlational evidence but are subject …

An Evaluation Of Wayfinding Abilities In Adolescent And Young Adult Males With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Yingying Yang, Weijia Li, Dan Huang, Wei He, Yanxi Zhang, Edward Merrill

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Background

Wayfinding refers to traveling from place to place in the environment. Despite some research headway, it remains unclear whether individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) show strengths, weaknesses, or similarities in wayfinding compared with ability-matched typically developing (TD) controls.

Method

The current study tested 24 individuals with ASD, 24 mental-ability (MA) matched TD (MA-TD) controls, and 24 chronological-age (CA) matched TD (CA-TD) controls. Participants completed a route learning task and a survey learning task, both programmed in virtual environments, and a perspective taking task. Their parents completed questionnaires assessing their children’s everyday wayfinding activities and competence.

Results

Overall, CA-TD …

Parental Nutrition Health Literacy, Sheila F. Towson

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Executive Summary

Parental Nutrition Health Literacy and Children’s Health

Problem: The problem identified in the following study is that overweight and obesity is associated with comorbidities that contribute to chronic diseases such as depression, decreased academic performance, type 2 diabetes, cardiac disease and others (Allesio, 2018; Barlow & Expert Committee, 2007). Demographics reveal obesity prevalence among children and adolescents to be 18.9% in the lowest income group, 19.9% in the middle-income group, and 10.9% in the highest income group (CDC, 2018). School and home environments are especially influential in affecting school-age children’s health behaviors (Luesse, Paul, Koch, Contendo, & Marsick, …

Parenting Styles, Parenting Practices, And Dietary Intakes Of Preschoolers And Their Parents, Biyi Chen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Emerging research efforts have focused on the role of parents in the development of dietary behaviors of their children. Parental influences play a particularly important role in determining the children’s weight and shaping children’s dietary behaviors, especially during early childhood. Parent-related determinants can be classified as two types—general parenting (parenting style) and specific parenting practices (e.g, food parenting practices). Examining the interactions between parental influences and preschoolers’ and their parental dietary behaviors and may reveal important insights into how parents influence children’s dietary behaviors. Therefore, the goal of this research is to examine the associations between parenting styles, food parenting …

Childhood Obesity: What You Can Do For Your Child, Gabrielle Parks

All Student-Created Educational Resources

This handout provides information to parents regarding the causes of obesity. It provides several ways parents can help prevent obesity in their children as well as health outcome should children remain obese into adulthood.

Parent Perceptions Of Their Child's Coach: Coaching Knowledge, Behavior, And Interpersonal Relationships, Eric Martin

Kinesiology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The two most significant agents for youth athletes are coaches and parents. Even though the parent-child and coach-athlete relationship has been well explored, the relationship between parents and coaches has remained largely unexamined in the literature. Therefore, the current project surveyed 251 parents of children involved in the USTA 10 & Under tennis program concerning parent perceptions of their coach and the coach-parent relationship. Overall, parents rated their relationship with their coach as positive and communicated with them frequently on several aspects of the tennis environment and their child’s development. Additionally, parents saw their child’s coach as knowledgeable and positive. …

Parental Perceptions Of The Risks And Rewards Of Youth Tackle Football, Laurel Whalen

Wayne State University Dissertations

Football is one of the most popular sports in the United States, despite a high risk of injury associated with the game. The issue of sports-related concussion (SRC) in football has garnered widespread attention in both the media and in scholarly literature as a result of documentaries, movies, and popular journal articles highlighting the connection between former professional football players and the neurodegenerative disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE (McKee et al., 2013; Mez, Daneshvar, Kiernan, et al., 2017). Although some studies have identified extremely few concussions in youth football, others have reported rates of concussion (Kontos, Elbin, Fazio-Sumrock, et …

The “Motor Of The Day”: Parent And School-Age Children’S Cognitions, Barriers, And Supports For Breakfast, Kaitlyn M. Eck, Colleen L. Delaney, Rashel L. Clark, Miriam P. Leary, Karla Pagan Shelnutt, Melissa D. Olfert, Carol Byrd-Bredbenner

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Despite the many benefits of regular breakfast consumption few parents and children consume this meal every day and research examining the determinants of breakfast consumption is limited. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine breakfast-related cognitions (i.e., beliefs, attitudes, facilitators, barriers) of parents and school-age children (ages 6–11 years) using the constructs of Social Cognitive Theory as a guide. Parents (n = 37) and children (n = 41) participated in focus group discussions held in community settings in 3 states (FL, NJ, WV). Data were qualitatively content analyzed to detect trends. Parents felt breakfast was important for numerous …

Parent And Household Influences On Calcium Intake Among Early Adolescents, Jinan Banna, Jessica O'Driscoll, Carol J. Boushey, Garry Auld, Beth Olson, Mary Cluskey, Miriam Edlefsen Ballejos, Christine Bruhn, Scottie Misner, Marla Reicks, Siew Sun Wong, Sahar Zaghloul

Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Calcium intake during early adolescence falls short of requirements for maximum bone accretion. Parents and the home food environment potentially influence children’s calcium intakes. This study aimed to quantify parental psychosocial factors (PSF) predicting calcium intakes of Asian, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white (NHW) early adolescent children from a parental perspective.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving the administration of a validated calcium-specific food frequency questionnaire to a convenience sample of children aged 10–13 years and the primary individual responsible for food acquisition in the child’s household. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, parental factors potentially associated with children’s calcium …

Rationale, Design And Methods Of "Set The Rules": A Tailored Peer-To-Peer Health Information Intervention, Jennifer R. Warren, Brandi M. White

Health and Clinical Sciences Faculty Publications

Ensuring equitable access to health information is one strategy to promote health equity for underserved communities, especially for low-income African Americans (AAs). Childcare centers are one viable site to deliver health information to address this disparity. This paper describes the methods used in a community-based participatory research project with a childcare facility that aimed to reduce environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure among low-income AA children. Through collaboration and multiple data collection methods, partners identified communication strategies to overcome informational barriers. These initial findings indicated a peer-to-peer health information intervention, entitled “Set the Rules”, as the best strategy to increase awareness. …

Parental Perspective And Feeding Practices Effects On Food Neophobia In Elementary-Age School Children, Farnoosh Ayoughi

Master's Theses

The Food neophobia (FN) behaviors in children are developed during childhood and can be influenced by parental FN and feeding behaviors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between FN and fruit and vegetable neophobia (FVN) among parents, the parents-reports on child's behavior and child self-reports. The effect of parental feeding practices and demographic variables on children’s FN and FVN were evaluated. Sixty-eight parents paired with their elementary school children (aged 7-12 years) in San Luis Coastal Unified School District participated in this study. Results indicated that parents reported their children more neophobic than children self-reported neophobia; …

Higher Education: How Parents Can Support Their Children, Celina G. Wille

All Current Publications

This fact sheet gives tips on how parents can support their children in the process of understand and evaluating college and career opportunities in higher education.

Healthy Alternatives For Your Child, Katrina Lobs

All Student-Created Educational Resources

This pamphlet informs parents of children, roughly aged 6-10, about healthy defaults. It includes statistics, meal prep suggestions, how to make meal time fun, and tips on how to incorporate healthy defaults into all parts of a child’s life.

Adolescent Weight Management On A Budget, Nicole Sherrard

All Student-Created Educational Resources

It is developed in short, easy to read segments. Topics included are family involvement in meal preparation, what to do and not to do for optimal nutrition status, introduction to MyPlate by the United States Department of Agriculture and financial resources to insure adolescents are properly nourished.

Eating Right For A Healthy Smile!, K. Michelle Head

All Student-Created Educational Resources

This printable handout discusses easy-to-follow tips for mothers and their children to observe for healthy eating and drinking habits (aka “healthy defaults”) for good oral hygiene. The tri-fold also addresses the benefits good oral health has on whole-body wellness and the risks that are associated with poor diet on oral health. The handout is intended to provide mothers with quick and easy tips that feel effortless that will improve her own health, and her children.

Adolescents' Self-Reported Motor Assessments May Be More Realistic Than Those Of Their Parents, Fleur Mcintyre, Beth Hands

Health Sciences Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: Adolescents' motor competence influences their physical, social and emotional development. Parent-reported assessments may not be truly representative of their adolescent's motor difficulties. This study examined the congruency between parent- and self-reported motor competence in 133 parent-adolescent dyads.

Method: The adolescent-reported Adolescent Motor Competence Questionnaire (AMCQ; ≤83) and the parent-reported Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire 2007 (DCDQ-07; ≤57) cut scores classified 133 (M_age = 14.5 years) adolescents into high and low motor competence. Parents also completed the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham IV (SNAP-IV) for descriptive purposes.

Findings: A moderate correlation (r = 0.56, P < 0.001) was found between the AMCQ and the DCDQ-07 scores. Overall, 42 low motor competence cases were identified by both measures (AMCQ and DCDQ-07). Parents identified more boys (11) than girls (9) with low motor competence, whereas more female adolescents (22) self-reported low motor competence than boys (18). A high proportion agreement (0.82) was seen, which was principally due to the 91 (68.4% of sample) high motor competence case agreements.

Conclusion: Parents identified fewer motor …

“Your Body Feels Better When You Drink Water”: Parent And School-Age Children’S Sugar- Sweetened Beverage Cognitions, Kaitlyn M. Eck, Aleksandr Dinesen, Elder Garcia, Colleen L. Delaney, Oluremi A. Famodu, Melissa D. Olfert, Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, Karla P. Shelnutt

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are a leading source of added sugar in the American diet. Further, ingestion of added sugars from SSBs exceeds recommendations. Thus, interventions that effectively reduce SSB consumption are needed. Focus group discussions with parents (n = 37) and school-aged children between the ages of 6 and 11 years (n = 41) from Florida, New Jersey, and West Virginia were led by trained moderators using Social Cognitive Theory as a guide. Trends and themes that emerged from the content analysis of the focus group data indicated that both parents and children felt that limiting SSBs was important to …

Parental Views Of Promoting Fruit And Vegetable Intake Among Overweight Preschoolers And School-Aged Children, Martha J. Nepper, Weiwen Chai

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Given the importance of parental influence on children’s eating habits, we explored perceptions of parents of overweight (body mass index–for-age percentile ≥85%) preschoolers (3-5 years) and overweight school-aged children (6-12 years) regarding challenges in promoting fruit and vegetable intake and how they and other family members influence their overweight children’s dietary habits. Focus groups were conducted with 13 parents of overweight preschoolers and 14 parents of overweight school-aged children. Codes and themes were developed by inductive data analysis. Four common themes were identified: short shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables prohibiting parents from purchasing, children’s taste changes in fruits …

Household, Psychosocial, And Individual-Level Factors Associated With Fruit, Vegetable, And Fiber Intake Among Low-Income Urban African American Youth., Angela Cristina Bizzotto Trude, Anna Yevgenyevna Kharmats, Kristen Marie Hurley, Elizabeth Anderson Steeves, Sameera A Talegawkar, Joel Gittelsohn

Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity, one of the greatest challenges to public health, disproportionately affects low-income urban minority populations. Fruits and vegetables (FV) are nutrient dense foods that may be inversely associated with excessive weight gain. We aimed to identify the individual characteristic, psychosocial, and household factors influencing FV and fiber consumption in low-income African-American (AA) youth in Baltimore, MD.

METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected from 285 low-income AA caregiver-youth (age range: 10-14 y) dyads participating in the baseline evaluation of the B'More Healthy Communities for Kids obesity prevention trial. The Kid's Block FFQ was used to estimate daily intakes of …

The Bigger Picture: Piecing Together The Experiences Of Family Members Living With High-Functioning Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Lauren Thomson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this research was to explore the experiences of family members living with a child with ASD. The specific research questions that were addressed included: 1. How is a family member affected by having a child with ASD in the family unit; and 2. How does living with a child with ASD affect family functioning? The theoretical orientation of phenomenology was used to guide this research and to allow the “voice” of family members of children with ASD to be heard. The purpose of phenomenology is to distill individuals’ experiences with a phenomenon down to an “essence” of …

Parental Feeding Practices And Child Weight Status In Mexican American Families: A Longitudinal Analysis, Jeanne M. Tschann, Suzanna M. Martinez, Carlos Penilla, Steven E. Gregorich, Lauri A. Pasch, Cynthia L. De Groat, Elena Flores, Julianna Deardorff, Louise C. Greenspan, Nancy F. Butte

School of Education Faculty Research

Parental feeding practices are thought to influence children's weight status, through children's eating behavior and nutritional intake. However, because most studies have been cross-sectional, the direction of influence is unclear. Moreover, although obesity rates are high among Latino children, few studies of parental feeding practices have focused on this population. This 2-year longitudinal study examined mutual influences over time between parental feeding practices and children's weight status, in Mexican American families with children 18 years old at baseline. Mothers (n = 322) and fathers (n = 182) reported on their feeding practices at baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up. Weight …

Parental Attitudes, Concerns, Health & Knowledge Of Nutrition And Their Relationship To Usage Of Functional Foods In Parental Feeding, Lauren Elizabeth Guy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purchase and consumption of functional foods is one of the fastest growing trends in the food and nutrition industry. Though many studies have suggested reasons why consumers purchase and consume functional foods, there has been limited research to understand what factors, if any, influence the use of functional foods in parental dietary practices. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether parental awareness of functional foods, self-reported knowledge of nutrition, overall health, and concern for their children's diets play a role in the provision of specific categories of functional foods (digestive health, weight management, bone health, cancer …

Parental Mastery Of Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Infusion Skills And Glycemic Control In Youth With Type 1 Diabetes, Kathleen Mitchell, Kimberley Johnson, Karen Cullen, Mary M. Lee, Olga T. Hardy

Mary M. Lee

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine whether parental knowledge of the continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) device affects glycemic control as measured by hemoglobin A1c (A1C) level. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Parents of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) using CSII completed a 14-item questionnaire. Questions 1-10 were knowledge-based questions that required the parent to extract specific information from their child's CSII device. Questions 11-14 asked parents to provide a self-assessment of their CSII knowledge. RESULTS: Twenty-two parents of youth with T1DM participated in the study. Ten of the youth were in the Low-A1C group (A1C/=8%). Parents …

Parents' Dreams For Their Young Adults With Down Syndrome: What Resources Are Needed To Achieve Them?, Julianna Elise Hudnall

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to identify the goals parents have for their young adult sons and daughters with Down syndrome, the factors that help to achieve those goals, and parents' perceived barriers to successful attainment of those objectives. While many supports are readily available to youths with Down syndrome in primary and secondary school, many of these supports disappear as these individuals transition into adulthood. When combined with the inherent challenges of emerging adulthood, significant gaps in resources become evident for this population. In order to identify areas in need of improvement, this study surveyed parents of post- and peri-transitional young …