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Insecure Attachment Moderates the Association between Thin Internalization and Girls’ Eating Concerns

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Abstract

Objective

Although it has already been demonstrated that internalization of the thin ideal may play a role in the development of girls’ concerns about eating, weight, and shape, research is needed to fully understand this vulnerability. The present study aims to investigate whether insecure attachment dimensions towards mother and father moderate the association between internalization of the thin ideal and eating related concerns in girls.

Methods

Self-report questionnaires on attachment anxiety and avoidance towards mother and father, thin ideal internalization, and eating related concerns (concerns about eating, weight and shape) were administered to a community-based sample of 167 girls (11–18 years).

Results

After controlling for age and adjusted body mass index, a significant interaction was found between attachment anxiety towards mother and thin ideal internalization for explaining girls’ eating related concerns (B = 0.12, SE = 0.05, p = 0.02). Also, a significant interaction between attachment avoidance towards mother (B = 0.13, SE = 0.05, p = 0.007), as well as between attachment avoidance towards father and thin ideal internalization was found for explaining girls’ eating related concerns (B = 0.11, SE = 0.05, p = 0.02).

Conclusion

Attachment anxiety (towards mother) and attachment avoidance (towards both parents) play a moderating role in explaining the relationship between internalization of the thin ideal and pathological eating attitudes in female adolescents. Longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to further unravel the role of insecure attachment as a vulnerability for eating pathology in youth.

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Author Contributions

L.G. designed the study, assisted with the data analyses and wrote the paper, K.V.D. assisted with the data collection and with the data analyses. H.N. was involved in the data collection and assisted with the data analyses. S.V. collaborated in the writing of the study and editing of the final manuscript. G.B. assisted with the data analysis and collaborated in the editing of the final manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the Special Research Funds of Ghent University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium

    Lien Goossens, Kim Van Durme, Hanne Naeye & Sandra Verbeken

  2. Vrij CLB Ieper, Ieper, Belgium

    Hanne Naeye

  3. Clinical Psychology Research Unit, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Guy Bosmans

Authors
  1. Lien Goossens
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  2. Kim Van Durme
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  3. Hanne Naeye
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  4. Sandra Verbeken
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  5. Guy Bosmans
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lien Goossens.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants and their parents included in the study. The ethical committee of the Faculty of Psychology and Educations Sciences at Ghent University approved this study.

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Goossens, L., Van Durme, K., Naeye, H. et al. Insecure Attachment Moderates the Association between Thin Internalization and Girls’ Eating Concerns. J Child Fam Stud 28, 3183–3192 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01494-6

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