Sixty-five parent-child pairs were studied to portray the potential family processes that put children at risk for obesity and to illustrate the household environment, parenting beliefs, and child characteristics of obese and non-obese children. Results suggest that efforts to curb childhood obesity should address improving parent knowledge of…

This study used attachment theory to understand college students' working models of parenting and expectations for how they would use television in parenting. We found that secure parent-child attachment histories were related to more positive expectations of parenting and that avoidant and anxious-ambivalent parent-child attachment histories were…

The way families have used the media has substantially changed over the past decade. Within the framework of family systems theory, this paper examines the relations between family media use and family connection in a sample of 453 adolescents (mean age of child = 14.32 years, SD = 0.98, 52% female) and their parents. Results revealed that cell…

Research indicates that relationally aggressive media exposure is positively associated with relational aggression in children. Theories of media effects suggest that these associations may be mediated by aggressive cognitions. Although parental mediation can attenuate the effects of violent media, it is unknown whether there are similar benefits…

Research on parental monitoring of children's media use suggests parents can reduce the negative effects of media exposure on children, although this research is rarely conducted with elementary school children and leaves open questions about whether parents or children are better reporters. Participants were 1,323 children, their parents, and…

Identified parenting behaviors portrayed in family-oriented, prime-time television programs. Results indicated television fathers were more active as parents than were mothers and both mothers and fathers were portrayed in traditional ways. Television children responded differently to performance of parental roles and to child rearing patterns…

Examined families' television viewing habits during prime time and family members' perceptions of their viewing habits. Individually interviewed 24 mother-father-child triads to determine viewing patterns over a four-evening period. Both boys and girls were more concordant with fathers than with mothers. Age differences were not significant for…

Assessed how family interaction patterns are influenced by television viewing. Results revealed that children oriented toward their parents less, talked less, and were less active and that fathers oriented toward their children and spouses less, talked less and made fewer positive facial expressions during television-viewing than during family…

Children spent about 20 percent of their waking time in play. Boys played more with vehicles and girls spent more time in domestic role play. Both boys and girls played about equally with items considered nonstereotyped. Boys spent more time watching television, while girls spent more time reading. (Author)