Purpose: Despite the well-established health benefits of fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption, most Americans, particularly adolescents, fail to meet recommended intake levels.In contrast, high junk food (JF) consumption is prevalent, contributing to health risks, including obesity and chronic diseases.Understanding how family meal structure and motivational factors influence dietary behaviors in parent-adolescent dyads is crucial for developing effective interventions.Methods: Using data from the Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study, we applied the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine the role of autonomous (self-endorsed) and controlled motivations (pressure-or obligation-driven) in influencing FV and JF consumption in parentadolescent dyads.We also investigated how family meal structure, including meal frequency and TV watching during dinner, moderated these effects.The sample included 1,717 parent-adolescent dyads, and data were analyzed using multigroup structural equation modeling to assess actor and partner effects.Results: In the low-meal structure context (infrequent meals with frequent TV), both autonomous and controlled motivation showed positive actor associations with FV consumption for both parents and adolescents, and parents' FV consumption was positively associated with adolescents' controlled motivation.In the high-meal structure context (frequent meals with minimal TV), autonomous motivation showed significant actor effects and bidirectional partner effects on FV consumption, and parents' controlled motivation was positively associated with adolescents' FV consumption.For JF consumption, autonomous motivation showed negative actor associations for both parents and adolescents across meal-structure contexts, parents' controlled motivation was positively associated with parents' JF consumption in the low-meal structure context.Discussion: This study underscores the importance of both autonomous and controlled motivations in shaping dietary behaviors in family contexts.It also emphasizes the moderating role of family meal structure, suggesting interventions should address both individual motivations and family dynamics to foster long-term healthy eating habits.
Niu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.