Body Weight Dissatisfaction and Communication With Parents Among Adolescents
Body Weight Dissatisfaction and Communication With Parents Among Adolescents
Background: Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet).
Methods: Survey data were collected from adolescents in 24 countries and regions in Europe, Canada, and the USA who participated in the cross-sectional 2001/2002 Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children (HBSC) study. The association between communication with parents and body weight dissatisfaction was examined using binary logistic regression analysis.
Results: Body weight dissatisfaction was highly prevalent and more common among girls than boys, among overweight than non-overweight, and among older adolescents than younger adolescents. Difficulty in talking to father was more common than difficulty in talking to mother in all countries and it was greater among girls than among boys and increased with age. Difficulties in talking to father were associated with weight dissatisfaction among both boys and girls in most countries. Difficulties in talking to mother were rarely associated with body weight dissatisfaction among boys while among girls this association was found in most countries.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that enhanced parent communication might contribute in most countries to less body dissatisfaction in girls and better communication with the father can help avoiding body weight dissatisfaction in boys. Professionals working with adolescents and their families should help adolescents to have a healthy weight and positive body image and promote effective parent - adolescent communication.
Body weight dissatisfaction and fear of fatness in early adolescence are important risk factors for disordered eating and are considered to be significant health concerns among health professionals worldwide. Being thin is desired within Western societies, and many normal weight adolescents, especially girls, perceive themselves as overweight and try to lose weight to achieve the socially endorsed ideal of a beautiful body. Studies have shown variability in body size preference and in body image dissatisfaction among children and adolescents based on ethnicity, body mass index, gender, age, pubertal status, and family connectedness. A positive association has been found between body mass index (BMI) and body image dissatisfaction among youth. For both genders, the desire to change shape or weight is common; however, gender differences in body dissatisfaction have been noted in early adolescence with girls being more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys.
In addition, research on body dissatisfaction indicates that adolescents are often split between those who desire to lose weight versus those who desire to gain weight, therefore body weight dissatisfaction is associated with perceived under- or overweight. The definition of body dissatisfaction varies across studies; some studies focused on body image or body shape dissatisfaction (e.g., how adolescents consider the appearance of their bodies) while other studies have focused on the perception of body weight (e.g., how adolescents feel about their weight and if they feel that they are overweight or not). In one study, body dissatisfaction was defined as the affective component of the multidimensional construct of body image, that is how individuals feel about their body. In the present study we considered body weight dissatisfaction from an overweight/obesity perspective, i.e. adolescents reporting to be on a diet to lose weight or need to lose weight were considered to be dissatisfied with their weight.
The prime context where the child lives and develops is the family. It is in this context that the cognitive, social and emotional development starts. The family is the cornerstone for promoting healthy behaviors and is an important source of social support. Parents are the main source of children's health care information; therefore parents can play an important role in reinforcing positive influences and filtering out negative influences on their children. In particular, mothers are the primary source of health-related information and have a strong influence on adolescent females' attitudes and behaviors. Poor parent-adolescent relationships could impair adolescents' psychological adjustment and increase their risk of psychopathology. Adolescents with more supportive parents are less often depressed or psychologically distressed. In addition, qualitative research among adolescents has shown that a negative relationship with parents is related to weight dissatisfaction.
An indicator for the quality of the parent-child relations and of parental involvement is the communication between the adolescent and the family members. Communication with family members has been shown to work well as a general measure of family relations and a good measure of the quality of the parent-child-relationships, showing high correlations with several measures of attachment to parents.
The study aimed at assessing the prevalence in boys and girls of self reported body weight dissatisfaction and the prevalence of difficulties in talking to father and mother, in 24 countries/regions in Europe, Canada and USA participating in the HBSC 2001/2002 survey. Because parents have been found to have a significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image, and weight in adolescents, the aim of this study was to investigate cross culturally the relationship between adolescents self-reported body weight dissatisfaction and mother/father-adolescent communication. We hypothesized that both girls and boys who indicated difficulty in talking to their father or mother would be more likely to report body weight dissatisfaction.
Abstract and Background
Abstract
Background: Parents have significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image and weight in adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of body weight dissatisfaction, difficulty in communication with the parents and the relationship between communication with parents and adolescents' dissatisfaction with their body weight (dieting or perceived need to diet).
Methods: Survey data were collected from adolescents in 24 countries and regions in Europe, Canada, and the USA who participated in the cross-sectional 2001/2002 Health Behaviour of School-Aged Children (HBSC) study. The association between communication with parents and body weight dissatisfaction was examined using binary logistic regression analysis.
Results: Body weight dissatisfaction was highly prevalent and more common among girls than boys, among overweight than non-overweight, and among older adolescents than younger adolescents. Difficulty in talking to father was more common than difficulty in talking to mother in all countries and it was greater among girls than among boys and increased with age. Difficulties in talking to father were associated with weight dissatisfaction among both boys and girls in most countries. Difficulties in talking to mother were rarely associated with body weight dissatisfaction among boys while among girls this association was found in most countries.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that enhanced parent communication might contribute in most countries to less body dissatisfaction in girls and better communication with the father can help avoiding body weight dissatisfaction in boys. Professionals working with adolescents and their families should help adolescents to have a healthy weight and positive body image and promote effective parent - adolescent communication.
Background
Body weight dissatisfaction and fear of fatness in early adolescence are important risk factors for disordered eating and are considered to be significant health concerns among health professionals worldwide. Being thin is desired within Western societies, and many normal weight adolescents, especially girls, perceive themselves as overweight and try to lose weight to achieve the socially endorsed ideal of a beautiful body. Studies have shown variability in body size preference and in body image dissatisfaction among children and adolescents based on ethnicity, body mass index, gender, age, pubertal status, and family connectedness. A positive association has been found between body mass index (BMI) and body image dissatisfaction among youth. For both genders, the desire to change shape or weight is common; however, gender differences in body dissatisfaction have been noted in early adolescence with girls being more dissatisfied with their bodies than boys.
In addition, research on body dissatisfaction indicates that adolescents are often split between those who desire to lose weight versus those who desire to gain weight, therefore body weight dissatisfaction is associated with perceived under- or overweight. The definition of body dissatisfaction varies across studies; some studies focused on body image or body shape dissatisfaction (e.g., how adolescents consider the appearance of their bodies) while other studies have focused on the perception of body weight (e.g., how adolescents feel about their weight and if they feel that they are overweight or not). In one study, body dissatisfaction was defined as the affective component of the multidimensional construct of body image, that is how individuals feel about their body. In the present study we considered body weight dissatisfaction from an overweight/obesity perspective, i.e. adolescents reporting to be on a diet to lose weight or need to lose weight were considered to be dissatisfied with their weight.
The prime context where the child lives and develops is the family. It is in this context that the cognitive, social and emotional development starts. The family is the cornerstone for promoting healthy behaviors and is an important source of social support. Parents are the main source of children's health care information; therefore parents can play an important role in reinforcing positive influences and filtering out negative influences on their children. In particular, mothers are the primary source of health-related information and have a strong influence on adolescent females' attitudes and behaviors. Poor parent-adolescent relationships could impair adolescents' psychological adjustment and increase their risk of psychopathology. Adolescents with more supportive parents are less often depressed or psychologically distressed. In addition, qualitative research among adolescents has shown that a negative relationship with parents is related to weight dissatisfaction.
An indicator for the quality of the parent-child relations and of parental involvement is the communication between the adolescent and the family members. Communication with family members has been shown to work well as a general measure of family relations and a good measure of the quality of the parent-child-relationships, showing high correlations with several measures of attachment to parents.
The study aimed at assessing the prevalence in boys and girls of self reported body weight dissatisfaction and the prevalence of difficulties in talking to father and mother, in 24 countries/regions in Europe, Canada and USA participating in the HBSC 2001/2002 survey. Because parents have been found to have a significant influence on behaviors and perceptions surrounding eating, body image, and weight in adolescents, the aim of this study was to investigate cross culturally the relationship between adolescents self-reported body weight dissatisfaction and mother/father-adolescent communication. We hypothesized that both girls and boys who indicated difficulty in talking to their father or mother would be more likely to report body weight dissatisfaction.
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