Study On The Influence Of Parental Feeding Style And Parental Eating Behavior Problems On The Eating Behavior Problems Of Autistic Children

Except for impairment of verbal communication and social interaction,another concern for children with autism is eating.The eating behavior problems affect autistic children’s development and education,and make their parents anxious.Domestic and foreign studies have found that parents’ feeding style and parents’ eating behavior can influence normal children’s eating behavior.Therefore,it is worth exploring whether the eating behavior problems of autistic children are influenced by their parents’ feeding styles and eating behavior problems.This study selected 91 parents(primary caregivers for children with autism)of 3～18 year-old autistic children from Chongqing to investigate the parental feeding style status,parental eating behavior problems status and autistic children’s eating behavior problems status.And on the basis,this study analysised the influence of parental feeding style and parental eating behavior problems on the eating behavior problems of autistic children.The results of this research are as follows:1.Indulgent style(39.6%) and authoritarian style(36.3%)were more obvious among parental feeding styles,followed by uninvolved style(13.2%)and authoritative style(11%).2.Having special preference for food is the highest frequency eating behavior problem in children with autism,is followed by selecting a narrow range of food,having destructive behavior during meals,pica and having procedural behavior during meals.And autistic children with parents of college education have significantly lower frequency of having special preference for food than those with parents of middle school education or graduate education;autistic children in family with monthly income of 5000 to 10000 yuan have significantly lower frequency of having special preference for food.3.There are differences in the frequencies of eating behavior problems of autistic children under different parental feeding styles.Autistic children with parents of uninvolved style have lower frequency on having procedural behavior during meals than autistic children with parents of authoritarian style.4.Parents’ eating behavior problems have influences on the eating behavior problems of autistic children:parental eating behaviors of selecting a narrow range of food and having special preference for food have a significant effect on children’s eating behavior of selecting a narrow range of food;parental eating behavior of having special preference for food have a significant effect on children’s eating behavior of having special preference for food;parental eating behavior of pica have a significant effect on children’s eating behavior of pica;parental eating behavior of pica have a significant effect on children’s eating behavior of having destructive behavior during meals.5.In order to help parents of autistic children with scientific feeding and promote dieting standard and health conditions of autistic children,three suggestions have been made:1 Develop educational activities about autistic children’s scientific feeding and healthy eating by cooperation;2 Parents should develop good eating habits and set an example for their autistic children;3 Encourage autistic children to participate in the process of selecting and preparing family meals.