Family meals then and now: A qualitative investigation of intergenerational transmission of family meal practices in a racially/ethnically diverse and immigrant population

Abstract

Having frequent family meals has consistently been associated with better health outcomes in children/adolescents. It is important to identify how intergenerational transmission of family meal practices occurs to help families benefit from the protective nature of family meals. Limited studies exist that explore the intergenerational transmission of family meal practices, particularly among racially/ethnically diverse and immigrant populations. This study explores how parents describe differences and similarities between meals "then" and "now", lessons they learned as children about family meals, lessons they passed onto their children, the challenges of carrying out family meals, and how families handle the barriers/challenges to intergenerational transmission of family meal practices. The study was conducted with a sample of African American, Native American, Latino, Hmong, Somali, and White families (25/category). Qualitative themes were explored with the overall sample, by race/ethnicity, immigrant status, and by time in the United States (US) as an immigrant. Parents overwhelmingly reported learning as children that family meals were important and conveying this message to their own children. Differences existed among racial/ethnic groups and time in the US as an immigrant. For example, Somali parents frequently endorsed having no challenges with intergenerational transmission of family meal practices. Immigrant parents in the US for a longer period of time were more likely to endorse learning/teaching about family meal importance, that the food eaten now is different than growing up, that a chaotic environment is a challenge to having family meals, and that they accommodate family member's schedules when planning family meals. Results demonstrate that exploring a parent's early family meal experiences may be important when intervening with parents from diverse racial/ethnic and immigrant populations when trying to improve or increase family meal practices.

Ecological Momentary Assessment of the Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Family Meal Environment in Racially/Ethnically Diverse and Immigrant Households

“…For example, prior studies have indicated the importance of having rules at family meals (e.g., electronics, flexible scheduling so family members can be at family meals) and that a positive emotional atmosphere at family meals is associated with child healthy weight and weight-related behaviors, which was also identified in the qualitative findings in the current study. 19,23,[27][28][29] One result from the current study that extends past findings includes the qualitative theme regarding having more breakfast and lunch family meals on weekend days versus weekdays. One hypothesis for this finding is that families may have more time on the weekends to carry out these different family meal types and may find them more reinforcing because they are less rushed, or include more home-cooked foods, which potentially leads to having more breakfast and lunch family meals on the weekend.…”

“…There has also been some prior qualitative research conducted with parents to identify meal characteristics of importance for promoting family meal frequency. 19,[27][28][29] These studies have provided a solid first step in understanding key meal characteristics (e.g., rules at meals, importance of family meals) 19,[27][28][29] from a parent's perspective that may increase the likelihood of family meals occurring. A next important step is to utilize mixed methods to provide both depth (qualitative) and breadth (quantitative) in understanding meal characteristics associated with family meal frequency.…”

The intergenerational transmission of family meal practices: a mixed-methods study of parents of young children

“…Findings from our mixed-methods study support and extend prior quantitative work on intergenerational transmission of family meals ( 31 – 33 , 35 ) by providing rich, detailed information on factors that distinguish how different family meal patterns are passed between generations. That said, it should be noted that although study participants were drawn from a large, population-based sample, this sample is over-represented by white, upper middle class, college educated parents and therefore is not representative of the population at large.…”

An Ecocultural Perspective on Eating-Related Routines Among Low-Income Families With Preschool-Aged Children

“…Studies among caregivers of infants, school-age children, and adolescents have also shown that eating-related routines are embedded in the social and cultural context (Bauer, Hearst, Escoto, Berge, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2012; Berge et al, 2013; Datar et al, 2014; Fulkerson et al, 2011; Moore, Goodwin, Brocklehurst, Armitage, & Glenny, 2017; Trofholz et al, 2018). The present study is novel because it is one of the first to assess eating-related routines among families with preschoolers (Agrawal et al, 2018).…”