Perceived body acceptance by parents, body image, and intuitive eating in adolescent girls: A look at each parent's role

Abstract

Introduction

The perception that one's body is accepted by others is crucial in the development and maintenance of a positive body image and healthy eating behaviors in youth. However, no research has examined the relationship between perceived body acceptance by each parent and adolescent girls’ relationships with their bodies and with food.

Objectives

The present research examined whether perceived body acceptance by the father and by the mother are independently related to different facets of adolescent girls’ body image (i.e., self-objectification, body appreciation, and social appearance comparison) and to their intuitive eating.

Method

Three hundred and forty-four adolescent girls from Quebec (Canada) aged 14 to 17 years completed an online questionnaire.

Results

Perceived body acceptance by the father and by the mother were both positively and uniquely associated with adolescents’ intuitive eating and body appreciation, and negatively related to self-objectification (i.e., perceiving their bodies as objects that exist for the gaze of others). Perceived body acceptance by the mother (but not by the father) was also negatively related to social appearance comparison. Results also showed that self-objectification, social appearance comparison, and body appreciation partially mediated the association between perceived body acceptance by each parent and intuitive eating. Finally, results showed that perceived body acceptance by the father and by the mother interact in the prediction of body appreciation.

Conclusions

Perceived body acceptance by each parent is related to indicators of a positive body image and a healthy relationship with food in adolescent girls.

Public interest

The results of this study, conducted among 344 adolescent girls (14–17 years old) in the province of Quebec, show that perceived body acceptance by each parent relates to several indicators of a positive relationship with the body and food. Adolescents who perceive that their parents accept their bodies are likely to report greater appreciation of their bodies, less tendency toward self-objectification, less tendency toward social appearance comparison, and more intuitive eating behaviors. The results support the importance of examining both maternal and paternal body acceptance given their additive and interactive effects.