Disordered Eating among Preadolescent Boys and Girls: The Relationship with Child and Maternal Variables
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (i) Is there an association between maternal and child BMI for both sexes?
- (ii) Are there differences between boys and girls with regard to eating behaviors?
- (iii) Are there differences between mothers of boys and girls with regard to perceptions of child’s eating behaviors?
- (iv) Are there differences between boys and girls with regard to body dissatisfaction?
- (v) Are there differences in maternal perspectives of body dissatisfaction for mothers of boys versus girls?
- (vi) What variables predict eating problems in girls and boys after controlling for the personal and psychological variables of children and mothers?
2. Method
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Child Measures
2.2.2. Maternal Measures
2.3. Procedure
2.4. Data Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Child and Maternal BMI
3.2. Eating Behaviors in Boys and Girls
3.3. Maternal Perceptions of Child Eating Behaviors
3.4. Body Satisfaction in Boys and Girls and Maternal Reports of Child Body Satisfaction
Boys (
n = 51) n (%) | Girls (
n = 60) n (%) | χ²(1) | |
---|---|---|---|
Children | |||
Body satisfaction | 23 (45.1) | 25 (41.7) | |
Body dissatisfaction | 28 (54.9) | 35 (58.3) | 0.15 |
Mothers | |||
Child body satisfaction | 23 (45.1) | 34 (56.7) | |
Child body dissatisfaction | 28 (54.9) | 26 (43.3) | 1.60 |
Boys ( n = 51) | χ²(1) | Girls ( n = 60) | χ²(1) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Normal Weight
n (%) | Overweight/Obese
n (%) | Normal Weight
n (%) | Overweight/Obese
n (%) | |||
Children | ||||||
Body satisfaction | 21 (93.3) | 2 (8.7) | 24 (96.0) | 1 (4.0) | ||
Body dissatisfaction | 17 (60.7) | 11 (39.3) | 6.22 | 19 (54.3) | 16 (45.6) | 12.50 |
Mothers | ||||||
Child body satisfaction | 19 (82.6) | 4 (17.4) | 30 (88.2) | 4 (11.8) | ||
Child body dissatisfaction | 19 (69.9) | 9 (32.1) | 1.45 | 13 (50.0) | 13 (50.0) | 10.61 |
3.5. Eating Disturbance Predictors in Children
Boys | |||||
R2 (Adj. R2) | F | β | t | ||
Block 1—BMI | 0.08 (0.06) | (1, 48) = 4.12 | 0.28 | 2.03 * | |
Block 2—Global self-esteem | 0.08 (0.04) | (2, 47) = 2.03 | 0.02 | 0.13 | |
Block 3—Body dissatisfaction | 0.19 (0.14) | (3, 46) = 3.56 | 0.37 | 2.48 * | |
Block 4—Maternal BMI | 0.20 (0.13) | (4, 45) = 2.77 | 0.10 | −0.73 | |
Block 5—Maternal EDE-Q global score | 0.20 (0.11) | (5, 44) = 2.17 | 0.00 | 0.01 | |
Block 6—Maternal dissatisfaction with child body image | 0.22 (0.11) | (6, 43) = 1.18 | 0.15 | 1.01 | |
Girls | |||||
R2 (Adj. R2) | F | β | t | ||
Block 1—BMI | 0.05 (0.04) | (1, 58) = 3.11 | 0.23 | 1.77 + | |
Block 2—Global self-esteem | 0.19 (0.16) | (2, 57) = 6.66 | −0.38 | −3.12 ** | |
Block 3—Body dissatisfaction | 0.21 (0.16) | (3, 56) = 4.87 | 0.14 | 1.11 | |
Block 4—Maternal BMI | 0.34 (0.30) | (4, 55) = 7.18 | 0.38 | 3.38 ** | |
Block 5—Maternal EDE-Q global score | 0.41 (0.35) | (5, 54) = 7.41 | −0.28 | −2.41 * | |
Block 6—Maternal dissatisfaction with child body image | 0.41 (0.34) | (6, 53) = 6.15 | 0.06 | 0.55 |
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Conflict of Interest
References
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Gonçalves, S.; Silva, M.; Gomes, A.R.; Machado, P.P.P. Disordered Eating among Preadolescent Boys and Girls: The Relationship with Child and Maternal Variables. Nutrients 2012, 4, 273-285. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu4040273
Gonçalves S, Silva M, Gomes AR, Machado PPP. Disordered Eating among Preadolescent Boys and Girls: The Relationship with Child and Maternal Variables. Nutrients. 2012; 4(4):273-285. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu4040273
Chicago/Turabian StyleGonçalves, Sónia, Margarida Silva, A. Rui Gomes, and Paulo P. P. Machado. 2012. "Disordered Eating among Preadolescent Boys and Girls: The Relationship with Child and Maternal Variables" Nutrients 4, no. 4: 273-285. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu4040273