Caregiver hope and child outcomes following pediatric weight management programs

The current study examined whether caregiver hope was related to child outcomes (change in weight or health behaviors, treatment sessions attended) and caregiver outcomes (weight change, willingness to make behavioral changes) in a culturally diverse sample of 202 youth with overweight and obesity and their families participating in one of three weight management programs for children 2-18years old. Within this treatment-seeking sample, dispositional caregiver hope did not predict willingness to make behavioral changes, number of treatment sessions attended, or treatment outcomes. These findings suggest specific efforts to foster caregiver hope within such interventions may not improve outcomes and investigation of other, potentially more modifiable caregiver and child factors may be more beneficial.