Work Motivation in the Public Service: A Scale Development Based on the Self-Determination Theory

2022

Sage Open

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The obesity pandemic is increasingly threatening Asian populations. This is especially so for children from higher-income countries, such as Singapore. Among the various driving factors of obesity, parents’ health knowledge, attitudes, and practices are underexplored. The present study uses a nationally representative sample of 1,491 responses from Singapore to investigate parental knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) about childhood obesity. Latent class analysis (LCA) on parents’ responses to the KAP survey reveals four unique parenting patterns: the limited knowledge group, the group with negative attitudes, the best practice group, and the limited practice group. Children of families in the best practice group are shown to have the lowest obesity risk. Furthermore, statistically significant variations in parental subgroups are found across several socio-economic factors. For example, parents with positive responses to all KAP variables tend to be younger, have a higher household income, do not work full-time, and live in a separate household from the children’s grandparents. The findings may provide important policy implications for targeted preventative interventions for parents whose children may face higher obesity risks.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Childhood Obesity in Singapore

2022

Sage Open

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“…We first examine the reliability of each measurement using ordinal alpha as all the scale items are ordinal and non-normally distributed [64]. An alpha coefficient of 0.70 or higher is usually considered as a cutoff point for good internal consistency but a value between 0.50 and 0.60 is still acceptable for preliminary studies in social sciences, especially for scales with a limited number of items [65][66][67][68][69]. We then exmined composite reliability (CR) and average variance extracted (AVE).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does parents’ social support impact children’s health practice? Examining a mediating role of health knowledge

2023

glob health res policy

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Background Family environmental factors play a vital role in shaping children’s health practices (e.g., obesity prevention). It is still unclear how parents’ social support affects children’s obesity-related health practices. The present study argues that whether parents’ social support positively associates with children’s obesity-related health practice depends on if it could promote parents’ obesity-related health knowledge. Thus, we hypothesize that health knowledge mediates the relationship between parents’ social support and children’s health practice regarding weight management. Methods To test the hypothesis, we conducted a questionnaire survey and collected a nationally representative sample of 1488 household responses in Singapore. The survey included questions about parents’ social support, health knowledge, children’s health practices, and socio-demographic variables. All participants have at least one child 14 years old or younger. In the sample, 66.1% of the respondents are female, and 93.7% are below 50 years old. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via Stata was used to examine the associations between parents’ social support, health knowledge, and children’s health practice. Results The results of our analysis support our hypothesis. Specifically, (1) parents’ social support shows a positive relationship with health knowledge (Coef. = 0.17, p < 0.001 for BMI knowledge and Coef. = 0.18, p < 0.001 for nutrition knowledge); (2) parents’ social support (total effect of social support = 0.081, p = 0.071) and health knowledge positively associate with children’s obesity-related health practice (coefficient of BMI knowledge = 0.10, p < 0.01; coefficient of nutrition knowledge = 0.31, p < 0.001); and (3) the effects of parents’ social support on children’s health practice is fully mediated by parents’ health knowledge (mediating effect = 100%, p = 0.007). Conclusion The present study provides fresh evidence from a multicultural context to understand the relationships between parents’ social support, health knowledge, and children’s obesity-related health practice. Our findings support the argument that social support from parents’ social networks does not necessarily promote health outcomes. The only social support that carries proper health knowledge can facilitate good health practice.

“…We examine the internal consistency of each measurement using ordinal alpha as all the scale items are ordinal and non-normally distributed [80]. An alpha coefficient of .70 or higher is usually considered as a cutoff point for good internal consistency but a value between .50 and .60 is still acceptable for preliminary studies in social sciences especially for scales with a limited number of items [81][82][83][84][85][86][87]. Results show that ordinal alpha ranges from .64 to .86 for the four scales (see Table 2), demonstrating acceptable internal reliability of each measurement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does parents’ social support impact children’s health practice? Examining a mediating role of health knowledge

2022

Preprint

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Background: Many existing studies have found that social support and health knowledge positively affect an individual's health status. However, it is still unclear how parents’ social support and health knowledge influence their children’s obesity. The present study hypothesizes that parents’ health knowledge has a mediating effect on the relationship between social support and children’s health practice regarding weight management.Methods: To test the hypothesis, we conducted a questionnaire survey in Singapore and collected a nationally representative sample of 1488 household responses. Structural equation modeling (SEM) via Stata was used to examine the indirect effects of parents’ social support on children’s health practice. Results: The results of our analysis support our hypothesis. Specifically, (1) parental perceived social support shows a positive relationship with health knowledge (e.g., BMI and nutrition knowledge); (2) parents’ social support and health knowledge positively associate with children’s health practice in weight management (e.g., physical exercises); and (3) a significant amount of indirect effects of parental social support is mediated by parents’ health knowledge. Conclusion: The current study tests a mediation model that bridges social support theories, health knowledge literature, and childhood obesity research. The present study provides fresh evidence from a multi-cultural context to understand the relationships between parents’ health knowledge and social support and children’s obesity-related health practices. Our findings support the argument that social support from parents’ social networks does not necessarily promote health outcomes. The only social support that carries proper health knowledge can facilitate good health practices. The policy implications of promoting health practice through social support and health knowledge are discussed.