, but
no prior study has examined how specific maternal behaviors may
relate to sibling behavior towards the child during mealtimes.
Specifically, it is unknown whether controlling feeding behaviors
by mothers, such as pressure to eat, have indirect implications by
affecting siblings' caregiving behaviors, such as encouraging the
child to eat. Establishing these associations can inform the design of
novel obesity intervention and prevention strategies that account
for the co-occurring influence of maternal behavior during mealtimes.
The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that
maternal feeding behaviors that are highly controlling are associated
with more encouragements to eat delivered from sibling to
child during mealtimes.