Cultural influences on food acceptance and rejection across development
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Shruthi M. Venkatesh (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: This dissertation examines cultural influences on food acceptance and rejection behaviors in early-to-middle childhood and emerging adulthood through three papers. Specifically, it explores how food culture within the home environment, proximal environments (such as schools and neighborhoods), and one's own cultural background shape food behaviors and preferences. In Paper 1, picky eating in the home environment is measured by assessing the overlap between parent and child reports of the child’s picky eating in a sample of 3- to 10-year-olds. Findings are discussed with respect to the implications of children understanding their own picky eating behaviors. Paper 2 investigates food culture in proximal environments by assessing children’s evaluations of foods from different cultures in the context of them being eaten at school. The study finds the strongest support for familiarity in children’s food choices, with limited evidence for the effect of individual factors (such as age) and cultural factors (such as neighborhood diversity) on children’s lunchbox choices. Finally, Paper 3 explores the intersection of all three types of cultures in shaping food preferences in a sample of Asian American emerging adults. Interviews reveal that parents, friends, peers, and college experiences play a promotive role in shaping the interrelations between cultural foodways and ethnic identity formation. Overall, the dissertation provides insight into the contribution of food cognition in shaping developmental mechanisms such as intergroup learning and ethnic-racial identity. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, this body of work underscores how the confluence of participants’ microenvironments and broader cultural food norms shapes food behaviors as an everyday experience.
Cultural influences on food acceptance and rejection across development
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Created on 8/1/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Child development, Ethnic identity, Food preferences
- Subjects
- Food habits $x Social aspects
- Food preferences in children
- Ethnicity in children