ResearchResearch and Professional BriefBehavioral Contexts, Food-Choice Coping Strategies, and Dietary Quality of a Multiethnic Sample of Employed Parents
Section snippets
Participants
Employed parents were randomly recruited by the University Survey Research Institute, a full-service survey research facility, for three telephone interviews using random-digit dialing in low- to moderate-income urban zip codes in upstate New York in the fall of 2006. Eligibility criteria included working at least 20 hours/week, one or more children under age 17 years at home, and family income <$60,000/year. Each participant received a welcome letter and a food amounts estimation booklet (34).
Data Collection
Results and Discussion
Sixty-four of 465 people screened were eligible; 78% were recruited and retained for three interviews. Fifty-six parents (87.5%) completed the baseline interview; 50 of 56 (78%) completed two additional 24-hour dietary recall interviews. Fifty-six parents were included in all analyses, except those assessing associations with dietary intake where the smaller sample (n=50) was used. There were no statistically significant differences between those who completed only the baseline or all three
Conclusions
Although all working parents are busy, the work and family conditions of some make it easier for them to manage the scheduling and preparation of family meals than others. These findings show how food-choice coping strategies can be embedded in behavioral contexts that arise out of work and family roles. Research is needed to consider parents' work and family contexts along with other sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics. To improve family nutrition, registered dietitians need to
C. E. Blake is an assistant professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia
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Cited by (0)
C. E. Blake is an assistant professor, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia
E. Wethington is an associate professor, Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
T. J. Farrell is an extension associate, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
C. A. Bisogni is a professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
C. M. Devine is a professor, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY