Understanding parental behaviour in the provision of healthy food for their children

• Main Author: Leong, Yoke Kiau
• Format: Thesis
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: BF Psychology; HQ The family. Marriage. Woman; RJ Pediatrics
• Online Access: http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/2369/

The issue of unhealthful food intake among Malaysian urban children is alarming. Studies in the extant nutritional literature has shown that parental involvement in dietary interventions are shown to be effective in nurturing healthy eating amongst school children. This study scrutinizes the cognitive and motivational decision predictors and processes that influence Malaysian parental behaviour in the provision of healthy food and the limitation of unhealthy food to their children. A survey using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted among Malaysian urban parents with school children aged 7 to 11 years old in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Selangor. A total of 1,158 responses were analysed using a Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling technique. The findings show that 13 out of 16 hypotheses demonstrated statistical significance and practical significance with the inclusion of frequency and recency of past healthy food provision behaviours as habitual behaviours. The frequency of past healthy food provision behaviour followed by parents’ attitudes toward the process of preparing healthy food for their children, their attitudes toward success in the provision of healthy food for their children, and subjective norms were the key factors in predicting parents’ intention in the provision of healthy food for their children. This led to their motivation of trying to act and subsequent behaviours in the provision of food. The recency of past healthy food provision behaviour had the most influence on the parents’ behaviour of providing healthy food for their children, whilst resistance to the temptation of providing unhealthy food had the greatest impact on the parents’ behaviour of limiting unhealthy food for their children. This study contributes towards knowledge building by developing an extended model of the Theory of Planned Behaviour in order to examine the psychosocial factors that influence Malaysian urban parents’ behaviour as food providers. The findings of this study have important implications for policy makers, commercial enterprises, and communities. For the policy makers, proposals for dietary guidelines, nutrition education, policies and intervention programs, were given. For the commercial enterprises, suggestions for food marketing, business opportunities, and food services were provided. Collaborative efforts and commitment from policy makers and commercial enterprises are imperative when advocating for positive dietary behavioural changes among urban parents with children in their formative years.