College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

Summer 8-24-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Jocelyn Carter, PhD

Second Advisor

Joanna Buscemi, PhD

Abstract

Children and adolescents in the United States have high rates of obesity due to several factors including low rates of physical exercise. Parents greatly impact children's short and long-term health behaviors through multiple mechanisms. The role of parental factors such as health self-efficacy in interaction with child temperament is underexplored. This present study had two primary aims: 1) to examine the main effects of parent health efficacy on child physical activity and body mass index (BMI) percentile; 2) to explore the impact of parent health efficacy as a function of child temperament and the main effects of temperament on children's physical activity and BMI percentile. In the present study, 123 mother and child pairs from the greater Chicago area completed self-report measures regarding physical activity, child BMI percentile, and personality along with tracking child’s physical activity with a fitness tracker. A series of regressions were conducted showing that: the interaction term of parental nutritional efficacy and child temperament of effortful control significantly predicted child physical activity (b = 2.029, p < .049) and the interaction term of parental nutritional efficacy and child temperament of surgency significantly predicted child BMI percentile (b = 2.095, p < .033). This study was conducted to better understand the impact parents’ self-efficacy of their own health behaviors on child’s health outcomes. This study also has the potential to identify subgroups of families who may benefit from culturally tailored interventions.

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