Deconstructing family meals: Do family structure, gender and employment status influence the odds of having a family meal?

Publication date: 1 July 2017
Source:Appetite, Volume 114
Author(s): Mienah Z. Sharif, Héctor E. Alcalá, Stephanie L. Albert, Heidi Fischer
ObjectivesWe assessed the odds of having a family dinner by parental gender, family structure and parental employment.MethodsThis study used data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) (2006–2008). Multivariate analyses assessed the odds of two outcomes among parents: 1) eating at all with children and 2) having a family dinner.ResultsSingle men had lower odds of eating at all with children and eating a family dinner in comparison to partnered/married males. Partnered/married women had increased odds of eating at all with children and eating a family dinner compared to their partnered/married male counterparts. While single women had increased odds of eating at all with children compared to partnered/married males, no difference was detected in the odds of having a family dinner. Among dual-headed households, women had lower odds of eating a family dinner when both parents were employed compared a dual-headed household with employed male/non-employed female. There were no differences among men regardless of their employment status or that of their partner/spouse.ConclusionsFamily structure, parental gender and employment status all influence the odds of having a family dinner. Future research on family meals should consider all of these factors to better understand trends and disparities across household compositions.



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