Maternal Parenting Strategies and Daughters' Perceived Weight Teasing as Predictors of Restrictive Eating Behaviors

Background/Objective: Restrictive eating behaviors during early adolescence may increase the risk of disordered eating, yet little is known about modifiable family and social factors influencing these behaviors. This study investigated associations between maternal parenting strategies, weight teasing, and restrictive eating behaviors among 168 Hispanic mother-daughter dyads. Methods: Mothers and daughters independently completed surveys assessing demographic and acculturation characteristics, and their height and weight were objectively measured. Mothers also completed the parenting strategies measures, while daughters completed the weight teasing and restrictive eating behaviors measures. Results: Descriptive analyses indicated that 66.1% of mothers and 98.9% of daughters were classified in either the overweight or obese categories. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that greater use of maternal limit-setting strategies was associated with lower levels of restrictive eating behaviors in daughters (β = -0.213, p = 0.017), whereas more frequently perceived weight teasing was associated with greater restrictive eating behaviors (β = 0.404, p < 0.001). The final model was statistically significant, F(8, 126) = 5.139, p < 0.001, explaining 19.8% of the variance in daughters' restrictive eating behaviors. Conclusions: These findings suggest that interventions that strengthen supportive parenting strategies and reduce weight stigma may help prevent restrictive eating behavior in this population.