(P10-060-24) A Qualitative Exploration of Control, Structure, and Autonomy Support Food Parenting Practices That Hispanic Caregivers Use to Feed Their Preschoolers Healthy Foods

Objectives: To explore food parenting practices that female Hispanic caregivers use to feed their 3- to 5-year-old children healthy foods (i.e., fruits, vegetables) in the context of the theoretical constructs of coercive control, structure, and autonomy support.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were conducted in Spanish with Hispanic female caregivers (n=25) via phone or Zoom. Participants elicited thoughts on parenting practices used to feed children heathy foods, family feeding behaviors and preferred sources and methods to receive nutrition education. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed, translated to English and then content analyzed to identify themes using NVivo v12.

Results: Participants’ mean age was 35.5 ± 6.3 years; 18 were partnered/married (72%) and lived with the child’s father. Caregivers used a variety of feeding strategies to promote preschoolers’ healthy eating, including coercive controlling practices to discipline their children for not eating foods they prepared. Nine themes emerged. Five themes aligned with the constructs of coercive control, structure, and autonomy support described in the literature: threats and bribes, food modeling, food availability, nutrition education, and reasoning. Four themes were new: punishment, preparation and presentation, encouragement and motivation, and responsive feeding. Caregivers discussed using a combination of practices to make their children eat healthy foods. For example, caregivers used rules, motivation, and encouragement to encourage their children to eat healthy foods, but they did not force their children to eat. Married/partnered female caregivers discussed the inconsistent support for healthy eating that the child’s father had by bringing healthy (i.e., fruits, vegetables, milk) and unhealthy (i.e., pizza, popsicles, chips) foods to the home.

Conclusions: Several food parenting practices from the three constructs were present and a few new themes emerged. Caregivers used more autonomy support practices than coercive control and structure practices to feed their children healthy foods.

Funding Sources: Honey Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. Public Service Commission Grant