Parental Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Children’s Nutrition and the Potential Mediator Effect between the Health Promotion Program “Join the Healthy Boat” and Children’s Nutrition

Abstract

Overweight and obesity, as well as their associated risk factors for diseases, are already prevalent in childhood and, therefore, promoting healthy eating is important. Parental self-efficacy (PSE) and early health-promotion can be helpful in promoting healthy eating. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of PSE on children’s nutrition behavior and identify PSE as a mediator between an intervention and children’s nutrition. The kindergarten-based health-promotion program “Join the Healthy Boat” was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial with 558 children (4.7 ± 0.6 years; 52.3% male) participating at both times. Linear and logistic regressions as well as mediation analyses with potential covariates such as parental outcome expectancies or parental nutrition were carried out using questionnaire data. In children, PSE was positively associated with fruit and vegetable intake (β = 0.237; p < 0.001) and showed a protective effect on soft drink consumption (OR 0.728; p = 0.002). Parental nutrition was a stronger predictor of children’s intake of fruit, vegetables (β = 0.451; p < 0.001), and soft drinks (OR 7.188; p < 0.001). There was no mediator effect of PSE. However, outcome expectancies were associated with PSE (β = 0.169; p = 0.032). In conclusion, interventions should promote self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and healthy nutrition for parents as well in order to strengthen the healthy eating habits of children.

Effectiveness of a Smartphone App (MINISTOP 2.0) integrated in primary child health care to promote healthy diet and physical activity behaviors and prevent obesity in preschool-aged children: randomized controlled trial

“…Our results are also in accordance with Möhler et al . [ 50 ] where PSE was a positive predictor of children’s intakes of fruits and vegetables in a kindergarten based randomized controlled trial ( n = 558). Correspondingly, a child-centered health dialogue (i.e., a face-to-face intervention) at the age of 4 years within Swedish primary child health care [ 51 ] resulted in a positive effect on maternal PSE for promoting healthy physical activity behaviors.…”

Parental Self-Efficacy—A Predictor of Children's Health Behaviors? Its Impact on Children's Physical Activity and Screen Media Use and Potential Interaction Effect Within a Health Promotion Program

“…Due to the multiple ways in which PSE affects children, the construct is gaining increasing attention in child health promotion (Jones and Prinz, 2005;Ekim, 2016;Möhler et al, 2020). Especially physical activity and media use represent two behaviors that could be affected by PSE (Smith et al, 2010).…”

Effects of a Theory-Based, Multicomponent eHealth Intervention for Obesity Prevention in Young Children from Low-Income Families: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study

“…Consistent with our findings, another study examining the effect of an online video intervention among parents with children aged 6 to 12 years found a significant effect on parental self-efficacy post-intervention [ 41 ]. Contrasting results were found in a randomized controlled trial study among parents with kindergarteners, where it found nonsignificant intervention effects on parental self-efficacy, possibly due to not having active but only minimal and passive parental involvement [ 42 ].…”