Associations among familism, maternal parenting, and weight-related behaviors in Mexican American adolescents: a cross-sectional structural equation modeling study
Cross-sectional modeling reveals strong associations between familism, parenting, and weight behaviors in adolescents, suggesting cultural considerations in obesity prevention.
Key Points
This study aims to explore the relationships among familism, maternal parenting, and weight-related behaviors in Mexican American adolescents.
Cross-sectional study design using data from 439 mother-adolescent dyads
Participants reported on familism, maternal communication, and their weight-related behaviors
Anthropometric data collected to calculate BMI percentiles
Structural equation modeling analyzed the relationships and gender differences among variables
Familism positively associated with maternal communication and adolescent physical activity, and negatively with screen time
Maternal monitoring was not significantly related to any weight-related behaviors
Higher fruit and vegetable intake and better sleep were linked to healthier weight status
Gender differences noted: mother-daughter communication related to longer sleep for girls, and familism to higher physical activity for boys