Relationships between diet quality, food satisfaction and life satisfaction in mother-adolescent dyads

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between diet quality, satisfaction with food-related life and life satisfaction in mother-adolescent dyads. The sample consisted of 470 mother-adolescent dyads in Temuco, Chile. Mothers and adolescents responded to the Adapted Healthy Eating Index, Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale. Data was analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Diet quality was associated with satisfaction with food-related life, which related to life satisfaction in mothers and adolescents. We did not find direct relationships between diet quality and life satisfaction for either dyad member. Adolescents’ diet quality negatively affected their mothers’ satisfaction with food-related life; adolescents’ food-related life was positively associated with their mothers’ life satisfaction. The mothers’ satisfaction with food-related life played a mediating role between their own diet quality and life satisfaction. Mothers and their adolescent children affect one another in their dietary patterns and life satisfaction. Child-to-mother influences on food-related experiences show that adolescents’ satisfaction with food-related life improves their own and their mothers’ life satisfaction. Interventions to promote healthy eating habits must be addressed to both mothers and their adolescent children.

Satisfaction with Food: Profiles of Two-Parent Families with Adolescent Children

“…For the variable AHEI, the scores obtained for each of the members of the families were different in the four profiles: mothers and adolescents in Profile 3 presented the highest average AHEI scores as well as the highest levels of SWFoL. This is in line with the quality of the diet being directly related to SWFoL in adults and adolescents [ 59 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 ].…”

“…It consists of five items grouped into a single dimension. The Spanish version of SWFoL was used [ 57 ], which has demonstrated adequate internal consistency in previous studies in Chile [ 17 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. The respondents were asked to indicate their degree in agreement with each item using a 6-point Likert-type scale (1: Completely disagree; 2: Mostly disagree; 3: Slightly disagree; 4: Slightly agree; 5: Mostly agree; 6: Completely agree).…”

Revisiting the link between domain satisfaction and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic: Job-related moderators in triadic analysis in dual-earner parents with adolescent children

“…Furthermore, father-adolescent dyads had distinct crossover effects regarding JS and SWFoL. These findings suggest that the greater the mothers' involvement in family affairs and in traditional gender demands (23,31,61,62), the more likely they may be to be influenced by both their male partner's and their adolescent children's satisfaction. Therefore, policy makers can develop organizational strategies to promote egalitarian gender roles among dual-earner parents, to give both members of these couples sufficient time to share and fulfill their family's responsibilities, especially during a public health crisis.…”

“…This is a predominant viewpoint in the cultural context of this study, in which men are considered the main providers for the family (27), while women are identified as primary caregivers (9,10,59). Studies on crossover effects by gender show more frequently unidirectional crossover from husbands to wives (23-25, 35, 36, 60), possibly in keeping with women's traditional socialization to be more sensitive to conditions affecting their male partner (23,31,(60)(61)(62).…”

“…Studies on parent-child dyads, have also reported crossover from only one parent to their children [e.g., ( 10 , 18 )] and from both parents to their children [e.g., ( 28 , 29 )]. Research on crossover from children to their parents are sparser ( 30 , 31 ).…”