title: Parental attachment insecurity predicts child and adult high-caloric food consumption.
abstract: Eating habits are established early and are difficult to change once formed. This study investigated the role of caregiver-child attachment quality and its associations with high-caloric food consumption in a sample of middle socio-economic status children and adults, respectively. Survey data were collected from an online questionnaire administered separately to 213 (143 girls) children and 216 parents (adult sample; 180 women). Two studies showed that an insecure parental attachment, whether actual (Study 1; children) or recalled (Study 2; adults), significantly and positively predicted high-caloric food consumption in both samples. The present findings highlight the importance of parental attachment and its association with unhealthy eating patterns in children and adults.
authors.affiliation: McGill University, Canada aida.faber@mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faber
authors.affiliation: McGill University, Canada.
authors.forename: Laurette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dubé
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet / Q000523:psychology*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: adults; attachment; children; eating; food consumption; insecurity; obesity