Division of Community Health and Research, Department of Pediatrics, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA.
Child Obes. 2023 Dec;19(8):575-580. doi: 10.1089/chi.2022.0173. Epub 2022 Dec 7.
Parental weight talk with children can have negative consequences; yet, it is not well understood why parents engage in it and if demographic differences exist. Utilizing the extant qualitative literature, we developed two scales to quantitatively examine parental reasons for engaging in and avoiding weight talk. An Internet sample of 408 US parents (64% mothers; 34% White, 33% Black, and 32% Hispanic/Latinx) completed the scales. Parents cited concern for their child's health as a primary reason for weight talk, whereas avoidance stemmed from not wanting their child to be weight-obsessed. White and Hispanic vs. Black parents, and parents with experienced weight stigma, were more likely to cite personal struggles with body weight as reasons to both engage in and avoid weight talk. Fathers vs. mothers were more likely to cite protecting their child from weight-based bullying as a reason for weight talk. Understanding these parental motivations can inform health interventions.
父母与孩子谈论体重可能会产生负面影响；然而，人们并不清楚父母为什么要这样做，以及是否存在人口统计学差异。本研究利用现有的定性文献，开发了两个量表，以定量检验父母进行和避免体重谈话的原因。我们对 408 名美国父母（64%为母亲；34%为白人，33%为黑人，32%为西班牙裔/拉丁裔）进行了在线调查，完成了这两个量表。父母表示，关心孩子的健康是他们谈论体重的主要原因，而避免谈论体重则是因为他们不希望孩子对体重过于关注。与黑人父母相比，白人父母和西班牙裔/拉丁裔父母，以及经历过体重耻辱的父母，更有可能将个人的体重问题作为进行和避免体重谈话的原因。与母亲相比，父亲更有可能将保护孩子免受基于体重的欺凌作为谈论体重的一个原因。了解这些父母的动机可以为健康干预措施提供信息。
