"Child and Parent Weight Loss in Family-Based Behavior Modification Programs": Correction to Epstein et al

Reports an error in the original article by Leonard H. Epstein, Rena R. Wing, Randi Koeske, Frank Andrasik, and Deborah J. Ossip (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1981, 49, 674-685). There are several errors in Table 3. The corrected table is provided. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1982-01694-001.) Overweight preadolescents and parents from 76 families were assigned to 1 of 3 behavioral treatment groups: parent/child target, child target, or nonspecific target. Percent overweight changes at the end of the 8-mo treatment and 13-mo follow-up were equivalent for children in the 3 treatment groups, but parents in the parent/child group lost more weight during treatment. Weight changes for parents and children increased through the 8-mo treatment. Patterns of maintenance showed that 40% of the children were within 20% of their ideal weight by the end of treatment, achieving nonobese status. 100% of the newly nonobese children in the parent/child group maintained nonobesity during follow-up, whereas only 30% in the child-alone group and 33% in the nonspecific group maintained nonobesity. In addition, weight losses for parents and children in the same family correlated positively at the end of treatment but not at follow-up. Results suggest that parental modeling may be important during treatment, but long-term results probably are due to parental reinforcement of child self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).