Abstract
African American and White mother/adolescent pairs were examined for familial associations in body size and weight concerns. Mothers' and adolescents' estimates of adolescents' body mass index (BMI) were significantly correlated. Compared to boys, girls had greater body dissatisfaction, higher weight concerns, and perceived higher family/friend weight concerns. By race, White adolescents had more body dissatisfaction and greater concern about weight than African American adolescents. Four items explained 70.4% of the variance in adolescents' weight concern scores: adolescents' weight management practices, mothers' reports of adolescents' saying they were too fat, adolescents' perceptions of family/friends' weight concerns, and adolescents' body dissatisfaction. Our study suggests White girls are more concerned about their weight and perceive greater weight and dieting concerns among family/friends than African American girls.
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Thompson, S.H., Corwin, S.J., Rogan, T.J. et al. Body Size Beliefs and Weight Concerns Among Mothers and Their Adolescent Children. Journal of Child and Family Studies 8, 91–108 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022950728691
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022950728691