Positive body talk in mother-daughter dyads

Abstract

Speaking disparagingly about one’s body (negative body talk) is frequently associated with deleterious psychological outcomes. Less is known about the occurrence and correlates of positive body talk, including potentially adaptive attitudes and behaviors. As this kind of body talk often occurs in the context of family relationships, such as mother-daughter dyads, understanding the interplay between individuals is especially important. The present study examined how mothers’ and daughters’ body talk is related to body image and eating behavior in both themselves and each other. College women and their mothers (N = 130 dyads) reported about their family body talk as well as eating pathology, intuitive eating, and body appreciation. Actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) were used to test the hypotheses that 1) engaging in negative body talk is associated with poorer outcomes (e.g., less body appreciation) in oneself and the opposite dyad member, and 2) engaging in positive body talk is associated with adaptive outcomes (e.g., greater body appreciation) in oneself and the opposite dyad member. Mothers’ age and mothers’ and daughters’ BMI were included as covariates. Hypotheses were only partially supported. Negative body talk was associated with poorer outcomes in oneself, but mothers’ negative body talk was not associated with daughters’ eating pathology or body appreciation. Similarly, positive body talk was related to both greater intuitive eating and body appreciation in oneself but was not related to eating pathology in either dyad member.