Do Familial Factors in Adolesence Protect Against Disordered Eating in Early Adulthood? : A 15 Year Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Disordered eating is prevalent among adolescents and generally persists into adulthood. Prior research has examined the role of early behavioural and relational familial protective factors on disordered eating, but studies have mainly examined these factors independently and using cross-sectional designs. Less research has examined how aspects of family functioning interact during adolescence to protect against disordered eating behaviours in adulthood, limiting our understanding of the impact of these factors long-term. Objectives: The current study aimed to explore how behavioural and relational family factors in adolescence interact to influence disordered eating outcomes in early adulthood, through testing direct and indirect relationships. Two exploratory mediational pathways were assessed: one pathway tested family relational factors as mediators and a second pathway tested family behavioural factors as mediators. Method: Longitudinal data from the Research on Eating and Adolescent Lifestyle Study (REAL) that recruited adolescent participants between 2006 and 2013 (n = 1197), and participants who completed a 15-year follow-up (n = 269; REAL 2.0) in early adulthood, were analyzed using path analysis to study two exploratory models. Participant data were drawn from a subset of measures of a larger battery of questionnaires. Results: Hypothesized models did not fit the data well. However, after modifications, an exploratory model did fit the data well. A marginally significant indirect effect was also observed, between family cohesion during adolescence and emotional eating in adulthood through family meals once appearance esteem was controlled during adolescence. Impact: These findings extend theory on adolescent family functioning and disordered eating in adulthood by proposing a revised model that needs replication that highlights the role of appearance esteem during adolescence.