Emotional Feeding and Emotional Eating: Reciprocal Processes and the Influence of Negative Affectivity
Silje Steinsbekk1, Edward D Barker2, Clare Llewellyn3
1Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Child Development
|April 26, 2017
Insights
Parental emotional feeding practices contribute to children
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Emotional eating in children, characterized by increased food intake due to negative moods, is common but its origins are not fully understood.
- Understanding the developmental pathways of emotional eating is crucial for early intervention and prevention strategies.
- Existing research has not fully elucidated the bidirectional relationship between parental feeding behaviors and child emotional eating patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the reciprocal relationship between parental emotional feeding and child emotional eating in a longitudinal community sample.
- To examine whether parental emotional feeding predicts child emotional eating over time, and vice versa.
- To explore the role of early temperamental negative affectivity in the development of emotional eating.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of a representative Norwegian community sample of 801 children, assessed from age 4 to 10 years.
- Data collection involved assessing parental emotional feeding practices and child emotional eating behaviors at multiple time points.
- Statistical analyses controlled for body mass index and initial levels of feeding and eating behaviors.
Main Results:
- A significant reciprocal relationship was found: higher levels of parental emotional feeding predicted higher levels of child emotional eating, and conversely, higher child emotional eating predicted increased parental emotional feeding.
- Temperamental negative affectivity at age 4 was identified as a risk factor for the development of future emotional eating and feeding behaviors.
- These associations remained significant after adjusting for relevant covariates.
Conclusions:
- Parental emotional feeding and child emotional eating exhibit a bidirectional, mutually reinforcing relationship during childhood.
- Early childhood temperament, specifically negative affectivity, plays a role in the emergence of emotional eating.
- These findings highlight the importance of addressing both parental feeding strategies and child emotional regulation in preventing and managing emotional eating in children.
Abstract:
Emotional eating, that is, eating more in response to negative mood, is often seen in children. But the origins of emotional eating remain unclear. In a representative community sample of Norwegian 4-year-olds followed up at ages 6, 8, and 10 years (analysis sample: n = 801), one potential developmental pathway was examined: a reciprocal relation between parental emotional feeding and child emotional eating. The results revealed that higher levels of emotional feeding predicted higher levels of emotional eating and vice versa, adjusting for body mass index and initial levels of feeding and eating. Higher levels of temperamental negative affectivity (at age 4) increased the risk for future emotional eating and feeding.
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