Perception of Parental Acceptance in Women With Binge Eating Disorder

Abstract

The authors contribute to the validating literature for binge eating disorder (BED) by examining perceptions of parents and satisfaction with life among obese women with and without BED. Participants were female patients, recruited through a private medical clinic, who were assigned to groups on the basis of body mass index (BMI) and scores on the Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP; R. L. Spitzer et al., 1992). Groups consisted of (a) obese women with BED (n = 32), (b) obese women who had no eating disorders (n = 51), and (c) nonobese women with no eating disorders (n = 30). All participants completed the Parental Acceptance/Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ; R. P. Rohner, 1986), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; J. Fischer & K. Corcoran, 1994), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; A. T. Beck & R. A. Steer, 1987). Obese women with BED perceived their fathers as more rejecting than did women in the other groups. Moreover, obese women with BED perceived their fathers as significantly more rejecting than their mothers. The BED group indicated lower satisfaction with life and higher levels of depression than the groups without eating disorders. These findings further validate the diagnostic category of BED. Obese women with BED appear to be a distinct subgroup of the obese population. The results indicate a need for further assessment of the father–daughter relationship in connection to BED and other eating disorders.