Posluszny, Hannah: The Mother-Daughter Relationship and Weight-Related Behaviors

Title: The Mother-Daughter Relationship and Weight-Related Behaviors

Name: Hannah Posluszny

Major: Dietetics

School affiliation: School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Programs: George H. Cook Scholars Program

Other contributors: John Worobey, Virginia Quick

Abstract: Prior research has identified a number of maternal behaviors that may contribute to the development of disordered eating in college aged women. However, to our knowledge, no studies have examined how the adult-daughter’s perception of the relationship she has with her mother might influence these outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore whether or not aspects of the mother-daughter relationship, in conjunction with maternal weight control behaviors, are either protective or detrimental to the daughter’s development of disordered eating behaviors. Self-reported responses to an online questionnaire were recorded from female participants (N =528) between the ages of 18-24. Results indicated that emphasis on maternal weight, appearance weight control, and parent weight talk are significant predictors of disordered eating in college aged females. In other words, girls who reported that their mothers dieted and regularly worried about their own weight were more likely to exhibit similar behaviors themselves. No significant results indicated that perception of the mother-daughter relationship influenced college aged females’ development of disordered eating behaviors.