Parental Readiness for Change and Involvement in Treating Children with Obesity

<p>Several studies have demonstrated benefits of parental involvement in intervention programs for Childhood Obesity. However, limited research is available on Parent Readiness for Change. This study utilized archival data from the LLU Growing Fit Obesity Clinic to assess Parent Readiness for Change (PRC) and involvement in a 12- week multidisciplinary program for obese children, as a predictor of medical and psychological outcomes. Data from forty-nine children aged 6-16 (M= 10.47) were eligible and included. Their caregivers who participated in the program included; 86% mothers, 7 % fathers, and 7 % relatives. The caregiver mean age was M=39.6. PRC was assessed using a program developed measure based on the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (URICA) scale. A bi-weekly survey was administered to measure parental involvement. The Contemplation stage, had the highest mean score on the PRC {M = 35.27). Total PRC and Parental involvement did not contribute any unique variance to the models and was not a significant predictor of outcomes. A significant effect of Total PRC on attendance to parent support group sessions was observed, t (4) = 3.746, p</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year

2008

Author dc:creator

• Vedda, Aileen Arratoonian

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kiti Freier Randall
• Joy G. Nichols
• David A. Vermeersch

• Physiology
• Psychology
• Obesity -- therapy; Parents -- psychology; Child Nutrition Physiology; Weight Loss; Overweight. Attitude; Parent-Child Relations.

Statement dc:rights

• This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/982

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarsrepository.llu.edu:etd-2062