Reducing Maternal Stress to Improve Obesity-related Parenting Practices

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Maternal stress is associated with children's risk for obesity controlling for socioeconomic status. The association between maternal stress and child obesity is particularly strong in Latinx families, whose children also have the highest rates of obesity in the United States. A mindful parenting program might reduce Latina mothers' psychological stress and lead to improved parenting practices and ability to create a healthier environment. The primary objective of the proposed research is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally-relevant intervention that integrates mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindful parenting in Latina mothers. The investigators will conduct a randomized clinical trial comparing the Calma, Conversa, y Cría (CCC) intervention to an active control condition in 50 Latina mothers of elementary-school age children. Participant satisfaction rates and qualitative interviews will provide evidence of the program's acceptability. Feasibility will be determined by examining recruitment rates, retention rates, and treatment fidelity. Completion of this project will inform the development of a full-scale efficacy trial.

Official Title
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Reducing Maternal Stress to Improve Obesity-related Parenting Practices

Conditions
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Obesity, Childhood

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: CCC
* Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: over the age of 18 years identify as female identify as Hispanic or Latina have a child between the ages of 3 and 11 years who primarily resides with them able to understand basic instructions in either Spanish or English Exclusion Criteria: pregnant or planning on becoming pregnant in the near future actively dependent on a substance have untreated psychosis, PTSD, or social anxiety that would impair their ability to function in a group setting child has an obesity-associated genetic syndrome child has a pervasive developmental disorder

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Calma, Conversa, y Cría (CCC)<br>Mindfulness-based parental stress reduction intervention | Behavioral: CCC<br>* A mix of mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindful eating, and mindful parenting strategies.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Enhanced Usual Care<br>Comparator group designed to influence health and well-being that does not include mindfulness as an active ingredient. | Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care<br>* Consists of strategies meant to enhance health and well-being (e.g., health education, strategies to get more physical activity) but does not include mindfulness as an active ingredient.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Participant Satisfaction with Intervention Assessed by the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire | Parents will be asked to complete a brief, 8-item, widely used measure of satisfaction with health-related services, available in Spanish and English. Scores range from 8 to 32, with higher values indicating higher satisfaction. | Immediately after the intervention | 
| Participant Retention | Research staff will take attendance during each intervention session. | At the beginning of each of the 6 weekly intervention sessions | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire | The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Spanish version) is a 39-item self-report measure of five facets of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judgment, and non-reactivity. Scores range from 39 to 190 with higher scores suggesting greater mindfulness. | Participants will complete this at three timepoints: baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 10-months from baseline | 
| Change in the Perceived Stress Scale | The Perceived Stress Scale is a 10-item, widely used self-report measure of perceptions of psychological stress. Scores range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress. | Participants will complete this at three timepoints: baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 10-months from baseline | 
| Change in the Child Feeding Questionnaire | The Child Feeding Questionnaire is a 31-item self-report questionnaire that assesses parents' beliefs, attitudes, and approaches toward feeding their children. Scores range from 31 to 155 with higher scores representing greater use of controlling feeding practices. | Participants will complete this at three timepoints: baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 10-months from baseline | 
| Change in the Frequency of Family Eating and Exercise Behaviors Questionnaire | 28 items used in previous work by Neumark-Sztainer et al. will be used to assess eating and weight-related habits of families. Items assess: frequency of family meals, fast food consumption, and watching TV during meals; availability of fruits and vegetables and sugar sweetened beverages; and parents' encouragement of healthy food consumption and physical activity. | Participants will complete this at three timepoints: baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 10-months from baseline | 
| Change in height in meters | Height will be measured to the nearest 0.1cm using a precision stadiometer. | Participants will complete this at three timepoints: baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 10-months from baseline | 
| Change in weight in kilograms | Weight will be measured to the nearest 0.1kg using a digital scale. | Participants will complete this at three timepoints: baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 10-months from baseline |