Families, Food, and Parenting

Lori Francis, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State. Dr. Francis is a developmental health scientist with expertise in influences on dysregulated eating behaviors and the development of overweight and obesity in childhood. She is specifically interested in measuring child self-regulation across domains of development as well as factors within the family environment that provide a context for problematic eating and weight outcomes in children. Her ongoing studies examine factors that influence the disproportionate burden of obesity and dysregulated eating in children exposed to poverty and adversity. Susan M. McHale, Ph.D., is Director of the Social Science Research Institute and Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Professor of Demography at Penn State. Her research focuses on children's and adolescents' family roles, relationships, and daily experiences and how these family dynamics are linked to youth development and adjustment. Dr. McHale's research highlights family gender dynamics and the role of sociocultural practices and values in youth development and well-being. Valarie King, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Human Development and Family Studies, and an Associate of the Population Research Institute, at Penn State. Her research focuses on intergenerational relationships across the life course and their implications for the health, well-being, and development of family members. Dr. King's most recent work focuses on elucidating the factors that promote the development of strong ties between children and their stepfathers, and the ways in which stepfathers can promote children's well-being. Jennifer E. Glick, Ph.D., is Arnold S. and Bette G. Hoffman Professor of Sociology and Demography and Director of the Population Research Institute at Penn State. Dr. Glick is a social demographer with expertise in migration, family processes and children's education and developmental trajectories. She has written extensively on the educational outcomes among children of immigrants in the United States and how migration alters family relationships and living arrangements.

Part I. Family Ecologies of Food Insecurity.- Chapter 1. Relations Between Structural and Social Adversity and Food Insecurity in Families with Young Children.- Chapter 2. Factors Shaping Rural Residents' Experiences of Food Insecurity and Coping Strategies.- Chapter 3. How SNAP Reduces Food Insecurity.- Part II. Family Ecologies of Eating Behaviors.- Chapter 4. The Power of Family Mealtimes in Promoting Health and Well-Being.- Chapter 5. Feeding Styles and Child Eating Behaviors: An Observational and Questionnaire Approach to Childhood Obesity.- Chapter 6. Mixed-Methods Assessment of Parental and Familial Factors and Associations with Child Weight and Weight-Related Behaviors.- Part III. Family Ecologies of Overweight and Obesity in Youth.- Chapter 7. Culturally Relevant Interventions with Overweight and Obese African American Children and Adolescents.- Chapter 8. Fathers and Food Parenting: Current Research and Future Opportunities.- Part IV. Future Directionsfor Research.- Chapter 9: An Ecological Framework and Novel Methodologies to Address the Intersection of Families and Food.