Associations between Parent Restrained Eating, Conflict, and Adolescent Eating (in Latinx Sample)

The goal of this study was to improve understanding of the role of family, at multiple levels, in potentially shaping adolescent eating behaviors (i.e., restrained, emotional, and external). To achieve this goal, this study used data from parent–adolescent dyads in ethnic minority families living in poverty, a group that is understudied and disproportionately affected by obesity, to accomplish three primary aims: (1) determine if parental restrained eating behavior is associated with adolescent eating behaviors; (2) examine variation in parent and adolescent perspectives on conflict, and whether source-specific appraisals of conflict are associated with adolescent eating behaviors; and (3) determine whether parent–adolescent conflict mediates the association between parent restrained eating and adolescent eating behaviors. Parents completed a measure of restrained eating and adolescents completed measures of three forms of eating behaviors (i.e., restrained, emotional, and external cues), while parents and adolescents (N = 91) completed reports of parent–adolescent conflict. Greater parent-reported restrained eating was associated with more adolescent-reported restrained, emotional, and external eating. Adolescent-reported parent–adolescent conflict (M = 57.03, SD = 18.37) did not differ significantly from parent-reported parent–adolescent conflict (M = 59.25, SD = 21.40). There was a small, but significant, correlation between parent- and adolescent-reported conflict (r = 0.27, p < 0.05). Greater adolescent-reported parent–adolescent conflict was associated with more emotional and external eating. No evidence of mediation was found for any adolescent eating behavior outcome. The findings underscore the importance of examining adolescent eating behavior in the context of the broader family system.