The Relationship Between Acculturation and Infant Feeding Styles in a Latino Population

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between parental acculturation and infant feeding style in a sample of Latino parents. DESIGN AND METHODS: A post-hoc analysis was performed using data from an ongoing four-site RCT to promote early childhood obesity prevention. Cross-sectional data of parent-child dyads at the 12 month well-child visit who self-reported their Latino ethnicity were analyzed. The Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (SASH) and a subset of the Infant Feeding Style Questionnaire (IFSQ) that assessed four primary feeding styles were administered. Analyses compared SASH level (low v. high) with each feeding style. RESULTS: Complete SASH data was available for 398 of 431 Latino dyads. Median SASH score was 1.8 (IQR 1.4 – 2.7); 82% of participants had low acculturation (score < 3). Of the nine outcome variables, four were significantly associated with SASH: “Laissez-Faire/attention” (AOR 2.3 [95% CI 1.06 – 5.13], p=0.004), “Laissez-Faire/diet quality” (3.9 [1.7 – 8.75], p=0.005), “Pressuring as soothing” (3.6 [1.63 – 8.05], p=0.007) and “Restrictive/diet quality” (0.4 [0.19 – 0.94], p=0.031). CONCLUSIONS: Latino parents with lower acculturation were more likely than those with higher acculturation to endorse feeding styles that are associated with child obesity. Further research is needed to determine why acculturation and feeding style relate.