20140
Parent Feeding Practices of Picky-Eating Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder
Objectives: There is little research available examining how parent feeding practices may differ based on the interaction between characteristics/behaviors of the child and parenting stress experienced. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to investigate differences in parent feeding practices based on parenting stress and child characteristics.
Methods: Variables were split into two levels based on respective grand means or clinical significance. Two-way factorial ANOVA’s were used to analyze differences in 9 types of parent feeding practices based on interactions between different levels of parenting stress and characteristics of the child.
Results: Parents of children with and without an ASD with high sensory sensitivity to food were more likely to use verbal positive persuasion at mealtime (p<.05) compared to parents of children with low sensory sensitivity to food. Parents were more likely to provide many food choices and insist on eating if their child was typically developing compared to having a child with ASD (p’s<.05). Several interaction effects were significant. For typically developing children, parents were more likely to limit snacks and reduce fats if their child had more mealtime problem behaviors. In contrast, parents of children with ASD were more likely to limit snacks or reduce fats if their child had less mealtime problem behavior (p’s<.05).
Conclusions: Overall, it appears that parent feeding practices do differ based on level of parenting stress and certain characteristics of their child. Implications will be discussed.
See more of: Family Issues and Stakeholder Experiences