LE3 .A278 2013

2013

Shields, Chris

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Psychology

Psychology

Research in childhood obesity emphasizes the role of parents in helping children establish healthy lifestyle behaviours, and thus highlights the importance of instilling positive attitudes and health perceptions in both parents and children. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to explore discrepancies between parent and child perceptions of dietary and physical activity behaviours, social support, efficacy, and overall health before and after the 8-week family-based multi-dimensional BeME intervention. Methods: Eleven parent/guardian-child dyads of overweight or obese children aged 5-12 participated in the BeME program and completed pre- and post- self-report measures of the study constructs. Results: Parents’ confidence in their children’s ability to make healthy dietary choices (i.e., other-efficacy) and their perceptions of their social support towards their children in the dietary domain were both shown to significantly increase following participation in the BeME program. As hypothesized, there was a general upward trend in child reported body-esteem, however this increase was not statistically significant. Parent perceptions taken pre- and post- BeME of the social support they provided, self-efficacy, and other-efficacy in both the dietary and physical activity domains were significantly correlated. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a collaborative, community based, low-intensity family-focused intervention can improve the perceptions of both children and their parents, thus building a foundation for behaviour change. Keywords: childhood obesity, perceptions, social support, self- and other-efficacy.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:993