Parental criticism and eating disturbance in adolescent females: Implications for a multifaceted eating disorder prevention program

Unhealthy eating patterns, attitudes, and behaviors affect up to 15% of young women. Certain familial characteristics have been identified as risk factors for developing an eating disorder and include parents who are highly critical of their daughter's weight and appearance, have unhealthy eating behaviors themselves, or put pressure on or encourage their daughters to diet and lose weight.; Multifaceted prevention programs have been recommended; however, based on a recent literature review only one study has included parents as a part of the intervention. The current study built upon the Student Bodies prevention intervention, which targets high school-aged females and their parents. The relationship between parental criticism and risk factors for the development of an eating disorder was examined as well as the effectiveness of the parental portion of the intervention.; One hundred and seventy-five adolescent girls aged 14--16, 136 mothers, and 112 fathers participated. Participants were randomly assigned to either the treatment or comparison group and were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Adolescents completed the Eating Disorder Inventory - 2 (EDI-2) Perfectionism subscale, the Eating Disorder Examination - Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the Weight Concerns Scale (WCS), and the Parental Criticism Questionnaire - Adolescent (PCQ-A). Parents completed the Parental Attitudes and Criticism Scale (PACS) and the Parental Criticism Questionnaire - Parent (PCQ-P).; Results indicated a significant relationship between parental criticism and risk factors for an eating disorder. Both mother's and father's criticism of attractiveness predicted adolescents' eating disordered behaviors, and their general criticism predicted perfectionism. Father's general criticism also predicted eating disordered behaviors. Mothers in the treatment group had a significantly greater decrease in rates of criticism and unhealthy attitudes and behaviors than fathers; however, there was not a significant difference between the treatment and comparison group. The current study did not find the parent intervention to significantly decrease parental criticism, but it did support that parental criticism is related to weight concerns in adolescents as well as contribute to a deeper understanding of what types of parental criticism are predictive of different risk factors for the development of an eating disorder.