Disordered eating among college students: The effects of parental attachment and the mediating role of emotion dysregulation

Abstract

Objectives

The current study explored the relationship between parental attachment and disordered eating among college students. This study also explored the potential mediating role of factors associated with emotion regulation. Participants: One hundred sixty-seven undergraduates (M = 18.93 years, SD = 1.02) participated in the current study. Methods: Participants completed an anonymous questionnaire reporting their perceptions of their parental attachment relationships, emotional reactivity, difficulty regulating emotions, and disordered eating. Results: Analyses using structural equation modeling indicated that difficulty regulating emotions mediated the relationship between maternal attachment and disordered eating, but not between paternal attachment and disordered eating. Emotional reactivity did not emerge as a significant mediator. Conclusions: These findings suggest that maternal attachment relationships may be associated with difficulty regulating emotions in adulthood, which may in turn impact disordered eating attitudes and behaviors.

Keywords:

• Disordered eating
• emotional reactivity
• emotion regulation
• maladaptive eating
• parental attachment

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the USA and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Rhodes College.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.

Notes

1 * All Cronbach’s alphas reported are for the current sample.

2 * Omitting this path caused the model to fit poorly, χ²(47) = 144.08, p < .001, SRMR = 0.08, CFI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.11, RMSEA CI₉₀ [.091, .133]. Analysis of local misfit indicated a large residual association between these two variables.