Parental Psychological Control, Attachment Insecurity and Body Shame: How Relational Factors Impact Disordered Eating

Family relationships are a critical factor in the etiology and maintenance of disordered eating (DE). Attachment theory provides a framework for how relational factors can impact DE, which can be further expanded with objectification theory. Parental relationships can either buffer or increase risk for body shame and DE. Specifically, parental psychological control (PPC) is linked to DE for adolescents and young adults. This study examined if attachment insecurity and body shame serially mediated the association between PPC and DE in young women. We applied secondary analysis to data obtained from a sample of 84 college women ( M age = 20.61; SD = 2.49). Self-reported measures included the Eating Attitudes Test, the Psychological Control Scale-Youth Report, the Body Shame Questionnaire, and the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures Questionnaire. Hayes’ Process Macro (v. 3.5 model 80) was used to test serial mediation models linking maternal and paternal PPC to DE through anxious and avoidant attachment and body shame. Results demonstrated indirect effects of body shame on DE in the maternal and paternal PPC models. Anxious (but not avoidant) attachment and body shame showed serial indirect effects linking PPC to DE. Our findings point to the saliency of body shame and attachment anxiety in predicting DE symptoms among young women. Highlights Parental psychological control is linked with disordered eating through body shame. Anxious attachment is associated with disordered eating through body shame. Controlling parenting impacts young women’s body shame and disordered eating.