Parent Perceptions of Child Weight Status in Mexican-Origin Immigrant Families: An Investigation of Acculturation, Stress, and Coping Factors.

Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101256527 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1557-1920 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15571912 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Immigr Minor Health Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: New York, NY : Springer, c 2006-

Acculturation* ; Adaptation, Psychological* ; Body Weight*; Mexican Americans/*psychology ; Parents/*psychology ; Stress, Psychological/*ethnology; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Emigrants and Immigrants/psychology ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Perception

Parents often underestimate their child's weight status, particularly when the child is overweight or obese. This study examined acculturation, stress, coping, and involuntary responses to stress and their relation to estimation of child's weight status among Mexican-origin immigrant families. Eighty-six families provided data on child's height and weight, caregiver's perception of their child's weight status, and caregiver's responses to acculturation, stress, and coping scales. Parents underestimated their child's weight status, particularly when the child was overweight or obese. Although acculturation and stress were not associated with accuracy, parents' responses to stress were linked to parent perceptions. Parents who reported more frequent use of involuntary engagement (e.g., rumination, physiological arousal) were more accurate. Future research, as well as healthcare providers, should consider how parents manage and respond to stress in order to fully understand the factors that explain weight perceptions among Mexican-origin immigrant parents.

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LUC-1-13 Foundation for Child Development

Keywords: Acculturation; Coping; Mexican–American; Obesity; Stress

Date Created: 20170323 Date Completed: 20190506 Latest Revision: 20190506

20240829

10.1007/s10903-017-0569-5

28326438