Intersectionality between parenting styles, area of residence and gender on food group consumption among Costa Rican adolescents

Authors: MONGE-ROJAS, RAFAEL - Costa Rican Institute For Research And Education On Nutrition And Health(INCIENSA); SMITH-CASTRO, VANESSA - Universidad De Costa Rica; O'CONNOR, TERESIA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); COLÓN-RAMOS, URIYOÁN - George Washington University; REYES FERNÁNDEZ, BENJAMIN - Universidad De Costa Rica

Submitted to: Appetite
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/2/2021
Publication Date: 6/13/2021
Citation: Monge-Rojas, R., Smith-Castro, V., O'Connor, T., Colon-Ramos, U., Reyes Fernandez, B. 2021. Intersectionality between parenting styles, area of residence and gender on food group consumption among Costa Rican adolescents. Appetite. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105443.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105443

Interpretive Summary: There is growing evidence that parenting style, often defined as the emotional climate of parent-child interactions, are associated with development of healthy eating behaviors among children and adolescents. Baumrind first identified three different parent styles authoritative (high responsiveness to, and high demandingness of, youth), authoritarian (low responsiveness and high demandingness), and permissive (high responsiveness and low demandingness) in research conducted with Euro-American, white, middle-class families. Since that time the authoritative parenting style has been associated with healthier weights and better diets among similar youth. However, little is known about how parenting styles is associated with adolescent's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables and beans in Latin America. This is important because parenting in Latin America may be different than in an Euro-American culture because of different cultural beliefs about parenting and family, with parents often holding greater authority and there being stronger feelings of family cohesions (familism) in Latin American families. This study therefore assessed the association of parenting style by area of residence, sex of the parent and sex of the adolescent in Costa Rica to the adolescent's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits and vegetables and beans. Data from a cross-sectional study of ten urban schools and six rural schools (7-11th grade) in a province of Costa Rica were surveyed with 695 adolescents providing complete data. Heights and weights were measured on the students and the students completed 3-day food records and surveys on the father's and mother's parenting style. The results showed that fathers' authoritarian style was significantly associated with lower intake of sugar-sweetened beverages among boys, but not girls; while mothers' authoritarian style was associated with lower SSB intake among girls, but not boys. Fathers' authoritative style was associated with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables among boys in rural areas, but this association was not significant for girls in rural areas or for either gender in urban areas. Findings suggest an intersectionality in the effects of parent-child interactions by adolescent and parent sex, geographic context, and the eating behaviors examined. It is possible that in Latin-American father/son and mother/daughter dyads the same-sex parent constitutes a model and authority figure with which adolescents respond according to the inter-relational dynamics of their social context, explaining the association of the parenting style for the same-sex parent and child's consumption. Parenting styles may also have different influences on adolescent behaviors that warrant encouragement (e.g., fruit and vegetable intake) and those that need to be extinguished or discouraged (e.g., sugar sweetened beverage consumption).

Technical Abstract: Little is known about how parenting styles can influence the development of adolescent eating behaviours in Latin America. This study uses hierarchical moderated regression models to examine such association by area of residence, sex of the parent and of the adolescent in Costa Rica. Results showed that fathers' authoritarian style was significantly associated with lower intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) among boys (Beta=-0.163, p=0.050), but not girls (Beta=0.097, p=0.114) while mothers' authoritarian style was associated with lower SSB intake among girls (Beta=-0.138, p=0.031), but not boys (Beta=0.159, p=0.059). Fathers' authoritative style was associated with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables (FV) among boys in rural areas (Beta=0.440, p=0.017), but this association was not significant for girls (Beta=-0.033, p=0.800) in rural areas or for either gender in urban areas. Findings suggest an intersectionality in the effects of parent-child interactions by child and parent sex, cultural and geographic context, and the eating behaviors examined.