Parenting styles and weight-related symptoms and behaviors with recommendations for practice

Abstract

With the incidence of eating disorders increasing in recent years, the role of parents in the pathology of these illnesses is of great interest, particularly the impact of their parenting style. Few studies have investigated the connection between parenting styles and adolescent eating disorders. Reviewed here are key studies on parenting style categorized into the following four broad areas related to eating disorder pathology: food-related symptoms, feeding style, research on ethnic populations, and populations with eating disorders. The results reflect previous findings on the benefits of the authoritative parenting style. Suggestions for parenting programs and further research are included.

The dynamics of parenting and early feeding – constructs and controversies: a viewpoint

“…Feeding styles refer to how the parent interacts with the child when it comes to feeding (Enten & Golan, 2008;O'Connor et al, 2010). Three tools have been developed that claim to measure 'feeding styles' (Hughes et al, 2005;Thompson et al, 2009;Wardle et al, 2002).…”

General parenting, childhood overweight and obesity-inducing behaviors: a review

“…Existing reviews mainly concentrate on these specific types of parental influences affecting children's weight‐related health outcomes, (e.g., 17,18). Numerous efforts to unravel the influence of general parenting on children's weight‐related behaviors suggest that the causal pathways are likely to be complex (19–23). For instance, the contextual influence of general parenting is assumed to moderate the association between parenting practices and children's health outcomes (24).…”

Valutazione dei bisogni dei genitori di soggetti affetti da Disturbi Alimentari e l’efficacia dell’home treatment (HT): revisione narrativa della letteratura

“…È stato dimostrato che uno stile di attaccamento insicuro favorisce lo sviluppo di disturbi dell'identità e tendenza alla dipendenza con alternanza tra fusione e rifiuto, invischiamento e distacco (Dupont, Corcos, 2008). Uno stile parentale autorevole ridurrebbe il rischio di DA (Enten, Golan, 2008), mentre uno permissivo si assocerebbe a scarso monitoraggio dell'alimentazione non-salutare, restrizione alimentare materna e spinta all'assunzione di cibo paterna (Blisset, Haycraft, 2008). La connessione intra-familiare sarebbe invece un fattore protettivo verso i DA.…”