Date of Award

Spring 2026

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dawn K. Wilson

Abstract

Family mealtime is a protective factor for adolescent health outcomes (e.g. well-being, diet quality); however, parent stress may diminish the frequency and quality of family meals and increase obesity risk through physiological (e.g., allostatic load) and behavioral (e.g., decreased physical activity (PA), obesogenic diet) pathways. Parenting factors, like responsive parenting (e.g., providing support for adolescent healthy eating) and feeding practices (e.g., parental monitoring - tracking adolescent diet), may mitigate the effects of parent stress by promoting adolescent behaviors (e.g., nutritious eating, increased PA) that are linked with healthier weight outcomes; however, few studies have examined this in Black families. Therefore, this study assesses the moderating effects of parenting factors on the relationship between parent stress and Black adolescent health outcomes (adolescent waist circumference, frequency and quality of family mealtime). Baseline data was used from 144 Black parent-adolescent dyads who participated in a weight-loss trial (Adolescent: Mage=12.9 years, SD=1.8; 63% female; MBMI%=96.7, SD=3.9). Adolescent waist circumference was measured using validated national guidelines for the “natural waist.” Adolescent-reported family mealtime frequency (meals per week) and quality (climate at meals), adolescent-reported parenting factors (e.g., responsiveness, monitoring, pressure-to-eat), and parent-reported parent perceived stress were assessed with scales validated in Black adolescents and parents. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed several main effects, such that higher parental responsiveness was associated with lower adolescent waist circumference (β =-4.99, SE=1.52, p< .05), while higher parental monitoring was associated with higher adolescent waist circumference (β=4.65, SE=1.55, p< .01). Furthermore, higher parental pressure-to-eat was associated with lower frequency of mealtime (β=-0.47, SE=0.21, p=.028). Results also showed that higher parental responsiveness was associated with higher quality of family mealtime (β=0.36, SE=0.08, p< .001). No main effects of stress or two-way interactions were significant. Although parenting factors did not moderate the effect of stress on adolescent health outcomes, these findings suggest that responsive parenting is associated with beneficial family mealtime and adolescent weight outcomes, and that future family health interventions with Black adolescents should consider targeting parenting practices.

Rights

© 2026, Taylor Ryan White

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