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Attachment Style and Obesity: Disordered Eating Behaviors as a Mediator in a Community Sample of Canadian Youth
- Source :
- Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP. 37(9)
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Objective Obesity and overweight are associated with many negative health outcomes. Attachment style has been implicated in the development of obesity in youth. The present study examined if disordered eating behaviors mediate the relationship between attachment style and body mass index (BMI) in a large community sample of Canadian youth. Method A total of 3,043 participants (1,254 males and 1,789 females, Mage = 14.20 years) completed self-report questionnaires including the Relationship Questionnaire and the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, and BMI was objectively measured. Disordered eating behaviors (restrained, emotional, and external) were examined as possible mediating mechanisms in the relationship between attachment style and BMI z-score, using a multiple mediation model using bootstrapping while controlling for socio-demographic covariates. Results Insecure attachment was significantly associated with higher BMI, and disordered eating mediated this relationship. Restrained eating was the strongest mediator of this pathway. Conclusion Results suggest that it may be important to take attachment history and restrained eating into account when designing treatment and prevention strategies for obesity in youth.
- Subjects :
- Male
050103 clinical psychology
Mediation (statistics)
Canada
Adolescent
Overweight
Body Mass Index
Feeding and Eating Disorders
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Mediator
Developmental and Educational Psychology
medicine
Attachment theory
Humans
0501 psychology and cognitive sciences
030212 general & internal medicine
Obesity
Disordered eating
Object Attachment
05 social sciences
medicine.disease
Psychiatry and Mental health
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Female
medicine.symptom
Psychology
Body mass index
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 15367312
- Volume :
- 37
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....436b1a18f87aa48ba75096e24c3771ba