Examining social and family contextual differences between parental feeding practice profiles in UK parents of pre-school children

Abstract

Prior research has utilised person-centred approaches to identify parent feeding profiles distinguished by controlling and structure-based practices, but less research has examined autonomy support-based practices, or how social and family contextual factors differ between feeding profiles. This study aimed to identify profiles of parents with similar patterns of feeding practices and to examine whether profiles differ on family contextual factors. In 2022, 989 UK parents of children aged 3-6 years (M = 4.1 years) completed an online survey, which included the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire (CFPQ), measuring parental feeding practices, and validated questionnaires capturing family contextual variables. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify parent feeding profiles using the CFPQ. A MANCOVA assessed differences in family contextual variables between profiles. LPA identified three profiles based on common model fit indices and theoretical considerations. Profile 1 ‘moderate control’ (25.2%) showed moderate use of controlling practices and low use of structure-based and autonomy support-based practices. Profile 2 ‘structured and supportive’ (29.6%) showed low use of controlling practices and high use of structure-based and autonomy support-based practices. Profile 3 ‘using everything’ (45.2%) showed high use of all three types of feeding practices. Parents in the ‘moderate control’ profile had significantly lower parental wellbeing and reported more barriers of time and energy for meal planning compared to other profiles. In contrast, parents in the ‘structured and supportive’ profile had significantly lower household chaos and lower parental stress. Mothers had a higher proportion of membership to the ‘structured and supportive’ profile (33.9%) compared to other profiles, whereas fathers had a higher membership proportion to the ‘using everything’ profile (60.9%). Future interventions should be tailored to parent feeding practice profiles and associated family contextual factors.