title: Family Functioning and Dysfunctional Eating Among Italian Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Gender.
abstract: The first aim of this study was to examine the association between different dimensions of family functioning and dysfunctional eating in a sample of Italian adolescent boys and girls. The second aim was to investigate whether gender moderates the relationship between family functioning and dysfunctional eating. Seven hundred and twenty seven adolescents (500 boys and 227 girls) with ages ranging from 15 to 18 years completed a survey of self-report measures. Findings from hierarchical multiple regression analysis suggested that aspects of family functioning such as flexibility, cohesion, disengagement, enmeshment, rigidity and chaotic were related to dysfunctional eating in adolescents. Additionally the results indicated differences between boys and girls, in particular dysfunctional eating in adolescent boys seemed to be more affected by dimensions of enmeshment and disengagement than dysfunctional eating in girls. This research highlights the important role of various aspects of family functioning in relation to dysfunctional eating in adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Rome Sapienza, via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. fiorenzo.laghi@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: Fiorenzo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Laghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Meghan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: McPhie
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Rome Sapienza, via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Baumgartner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennine S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rawana
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Rome Sapienza, via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pompili
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Rome Sapienza, via dei Marsi 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baiocco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054541:Family Conflict / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D007207:Individuation; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Dysfunctional eating; Family functioning; Moderation