title: A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between disordered eating attitudes and behaviors and parent-child conflict: a monozygotic twin differences design.
abstract: Few studies have examined nonshared environmental risk factors for disordered eating, and none have done so using a longitudinal design. The current project used a longitudinal, monozygotic twin differences design to examine parent-child conflict as a nonshared environmental risk factor for disordered eating. Participants included 468 monozygotic female twins (234 pairs) from the Minnesota Twin Family Study, who completed surveys every 3 years from ages 11 to 17 years. Twin differences in disordered eating were assessed with the Total Score, Body Dissatisfaction, Weight Preoccupation, and Binge Eating subscales of the Minnesota Eating Behavior Survey. Differences in parent-child conflict were assessed with the Parental Environment Questionnaire. Cross-lagged models were used to examine longitudinal associations among these variables, controlling for within-age associations. Only the longitudinal association between twin differences in disordered eating at age 14 years and differences in parent-child conflict at age 17 years were significant; twin differences in disordered eating predicted later differences in parent-child conflict rather than the reverse. Findings suggest differences in parent-child conflict between genetically identical twins may be a consequence of, rather than a risk factor for, differences in disordered eating.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1116, USA.
authors.forename: Alexia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spanos
authors.forename: Kelly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Klump
authors.forename: S Alexandra
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.forename: Matt
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGue
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Iacono
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D004200:Diseases in Twins; D004435:Eating / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012649:Self Concept; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014430:Twins, Monozygotic / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology*
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2000 Jan;27(1):1-20
references.pmid: 10590444
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1991 Dec;148(12):1627-37
references.pmid: 1842216
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 2005 Nov;187:444-9
references.pmid: 16260820
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1985 Nov;142(11):1321-4
references.pmid: 3864383
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2002 Mar;31(2):118-35
references.pmid: 11920974
references.citation: Psychol Med. 2001 May;31(4):737-40
references.pmid: 11352375
references.citation: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000 Oct;39(10):1212-9
references.pmid: 11026173
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2004 Sep;36(2):183-94
references.pmid: 15282688
references.citation: Psychol Bull. 2004 Jan;130(1):19-65
references.pmid: 14717649
references.citation: J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004 Feb;45(2):260-73
references.pmid: 14982240
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 1998 Dec 15;44(12):1210-8
references.pmid: 9861464
references.citation: Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2001 Jun;24(2):215-25
references.pmid: 11416922
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2001 Jan;29(1):1-10
references.pmid: 11135326
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Mar;157(3):469-71
references.pmid: 10698830
references.citation: J Abnorm Psychol. 2000 May;109(2):239-51
references.pmid: 10895562
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 1999 Nov;26(3):301-14
references.pmid: 10441246
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 1997 Mar;33(2):351-63
references.pmid: 9147842
references.citation: Dev Psychopathol. 1999 Fall;11(4):869-900
references.pmid: 10624730
references.citation: Can J Psychiatry. 2001 Apr;46(3):225-33
references.pmid: 11320676
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1995 Sep;25(5):985-93
references.pmid: 8588017
references.citation: Eat Behav. 2005 Dec;6(4):373-92
references.pmid: 16257811
references.citation: Dev Psychol. 2006 Nov;42(6):1289-98
references.pmid: 17087561
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2007 Dec;40(8):679-86
references.pmid: 17868128
references.citation: Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007 Dec;64(12):1409-15
references.pmid: 18056549
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2005 Apr;37(3):188-99
references.pmid: 15822080
references.citation: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2002 Feb;70(1):6-20
references.pmid: 11860057