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Parental Bonding and Body Mass Index in a Female Community Sample: The Mediating Role of Eating Disorder Thoughts and

Myra J Cooper1, Eliane Young2

  • 1University of Oxford,UK.

Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
|March 12, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Disrupted parent-child relationships are linked to higher body mass index (BMI) in women. This connection is mediated by eating disorder thoughts and negative self-beliefs, suggesting targets for psychological treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Obesity Research
  • Clinical Psychology

Background:

  • Disrupted early parent-child relationships may contribute to overweight/obesity in women.
  • Eating disorder cognitions and negative self-beliefs are implicated in obesity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if disrupted parent-child relationships correlate with higher body mass index (BMI).
  • To investigate if cognitive factors mediate the relationship between parent-child relationships and BMI.

Main Methods:

  • 118 women completed questionnaires on eating disorder (ED) thoughts, negative self-beliefs, and parental bonding.
  • Individual body mass indices (BMIs) were calculated.

Main Results:

  • A significant relationship was found between parental bonding and higher BMI.
  • The link between parental bonding (maternal care, paternal overprotection) and BMI was mediated by ED thoughts and negative self-beliefs.

Conclusions:

  • Cognitive factors, including ED-related thoughts and negative self-beliefs, are potential targets for psychological interventions.
  • These findings offer insights into psychological treatment strategies for women with overweight/obesity.
Abstract

Keywords:
Body Mass Indexcognitionoverweight/obesityparental bondingschema

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