Understanding Eating Behaviors through Parental Communication and the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction

Emerging adulthood (EA) is an important yet overlooked period for developing long-term health behaviors. During these years, emerging adults adopt health behaviors that persist throughout life. This study applies the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction (IMBP) to examine the role of childhood parental communication in predicting engagement in healthful eating during EA.

Participants included 239 college students, ages 18 to 25, from a large university in the southern United States. Participants were recruited and data collection occurred spring 2012. Participants responded to measures to assess perceived parental communication, eating behaviors, attitudes, subjective norms, and behavioral control over healthful eating. SEM and mediation analyses were used to address the hypotheses posited.

Data demonstrated that perceived parent-child communication - specifically, its quality and target-specific content - significantly predicted emerging adults' eating behaviors, mediated through subjective norm and perceived behavioral control.

This study sets the stage for further exploration and understanding of different ways parental communication influences emerging adults' healthy behavior enactment.