Kipps Project

Kipps Project

Moderating Effects of Parenting Factors and Perceived Stress on African American Adolescent Weight-Related Outcomes

Stress and Healthy Inequities

• Chronic Stress refers to ongoing demands that come from various life difficulties that threaten to exceed the resources that an individual perceives to have

• African Americans- Higher levels of perceived chronic stress than whites

• “Weathering” Hypothesis- relates stress to health outcomes

• Socioeconomic adversity, marginalization, chronic stress, and stigma —> early negative health outcomes

Stress Buffering Hypothesis

• The presence of social support and resources helps to buffer, or shield, an individual from the negative effects of stress, but only under high-stress conditions

• Parents can be a primary form of social support among African American adolescents

• Their influence may act as a buffer against the negative effects of stress under high stress conditions

Participants

148 African American parent-adolescent dyads that were enrolled in the FIT for weight loss RCT

• Overweight adolescents 11-16 years (about 65% female)

Measures

• Authoritative Parenting Index

• Child Feeding Questionnaire

• Perceived Stress Scale- 10 item measure

Authoritative Parenting Index

Authoritative Parenting is a style characterized by high responsiveness and high demands

• They are responsive to the child’s emotional needs while having high standards. They set limits and are very consistent in enforcing boundaries

• Associated with better health outcomes

Child Feeding Questionnaire

Concerns for child weight, responsibility, Restriction, Monitoring, and pressure to eat

• Pressure to eat and restriction are more health-reducing practices

• Responsibility and monitoring = health-improving

Results

• A significant interaction was found between parental pressure to eat and parent-perceived stress when predicting adolescent BMI

  • High perceived stress and pressure to eat predicted higher adolescent BMI and vice versa

  • Supports the Stress-Buffering Hypothesis

• A significant interaction was found between parental monitoring and adolescent perceived stress when predicting adolescent BMI

  • Can’t conclude much more

SNAP Project

Stress, Neighborhood, and Parents

• 30 in-depth interviews with FIT families

• Main goal: obtain rich stories about how stress is related to the health behaviors in FIT families

SNAP Aims

1. Conduct in-depth interviews

2. Examine with quantitative data secondary analyses

3. Develop a pilot community based participatory intervention guided by both qualitative and quantitative studies

SNAP Preliminary Findings

• Parent stressors: Caregiver responsibilities, work stress, financial struggles, lack of time, interpersonal conflict, family health concerns

• Health Behaviors: Poor food choices, loss of appetite, increased fast food consumption, decreased physical activity

SPARC Grant

From USC

Support to Promote Advancement of Research and Creativity

SPARC Proposal

A parent-focused stress reduction intervention to decrease adolescent BMI, reduce parent stress, and increase well-being among African American families

• Incorporate stress management skills into weight management interventions

SPARC Aims

1. Develop an integrated intervention addressing stress and health behaviors

2. Test feasibility of a parent-focused stress-reduction intervention for African American adolescents and their caregivers

3. Assess for greater improvements in adolescent BMI, parent and adolescent stress, and well-being for families in the stress reduction group when compared to families in a control group

Relapse Prevention Model

• Cognitive Reframing: Similar to CBT

• Life Balance

• Behavioral Skills Training