This study addresses the relations between parental rules regarding television use (for time and program, respectively) and television use among very young children (ages 0 to 6). Higher education level was related to rules of both types, whereas higher household income was related to having program rules. Parents with time rules reported their children watching less television, but parents with program rules reported their children watching more television. Parents with program rules were more likely to have positive attitudes toward television and more likely to be present when their children were viewing. Parents with both types of rules were more likely to see their children imitating positive behaviors from television, whereas parents with program rules were more likely to see their children imitating negative behaviors. Exploratory path models suggest that the processes by which television time rules and television program rules are related to young children's viewing differ in important ways.

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Regardless of generation, parent smoking behavior has a direct influence on offspring smoking behavior. The link between grandparent (G1) and grandchild (G3) smoking is mediated by parent (G2) smoking, suggesting that smoking behavior is passed from one generation to the next generation and in turn to the next generation.

BackgroundThough bivariate relationships between childhood obesity, physical activity, friendships and television viewing are well documented, empirical assessment of the extent to which links between obesity and television may be mediated by these factors is scarce. This study examines the possibility that time with friends and physical activity are potential mechanisms linking overweight/obesity to television viewing in youth.MethodsData were drawn from children ages 10-18 years old (M = 13.81, SD = 2.55) participating in the 2002 wave of Child Development Supplement (CDS) to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) (n = 1,545). Data were collected both directly and via self-report from children and their parents. Path analysis was employed to examine a model whereby the relationships between youth overweight/obesity and television viewing were mediated by time spent with friends and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA).ResultsOverweight/obesity was directly related to less time spent with friends, but not to MVPA. Time spent with friends was directly and positively related to MVPA, and directly and negatively related to time spent watching television without friends. In turn, MVPA was directly and negatively related to watching television without friends. There were significant indirect effects of both overweight/obesity and time with friends on television viewing through MVPA, and of overweight/obesity on MVPA through time with friends. Net of any indirect effects, the direct effect of overweight/obesity on television viewing remained. The final model fit the data extremely well (χ2 = 5.77, df = 5, p<0.0001, RMSEA = 0.01, CFI = 0.99, TLI =0.99).ConclusionsWe found good evidence that the positive relationships between time with friends and physical activity are important mediators of links between overweight/obesity and television viewing in youth. These findings highlight the importance of moving from examinations of bivariate relationships between weight status and television viewing to more nuanced explanatory models which attempt to identify and unpack the possible mechanisms linking them.

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