title: The parent-child relationship as predictor of eating pathology and weight gain in preadolescents.
abstract: The present study examined the role of attachment toward mother and father as a predictor of eating pathology and weight gain among preadolescent boys and girls. Self-report questionnaires and adjusted body mass index (BMI) were administered from a community sample of 601 preadolescents (8-11 years; 48% female) at baseline and once again 1 year later. Significant baseline associations were found between attachment toward both parents and several features of eating pathology. No baseline correlations were found between the attachment variables and adjusted BMI. However, after controlling for gender and baseline levels of eating pathology and weight, an insecure attachment toward mother significantly predicted increases in dietary restraint, eating concerns, weight concerns, and shape concerns, and adjusted BMI in the children 1 year later. An insecure attachment toward father was predictive for persistence in children's subjective binge eating episodes. The present study provides preliminary evidence for the longitudinal association between attachment and eating pathology and weight gain in preadolescents. Moreover, attachment toward mother and attachment toward father appear to be differently associated with their children's disordered eating attitudes and adjusted BMI. Future research should further elucidate the mechanisms underlying this differential association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Lien.Goossens@UGent.be
authors.forename: Lien
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Goossens
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Braet
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Durme
authors.forename: Veerle
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Decaluwé
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bosmans
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015430:Weight Gain