Canonical Analysis of Relationships between Coping Strategies and Parental Bonding with Eating Disorders among University Students

Objective: Eating disorders are one of the most problematic psychological issues that are highly associated with mental health disorders such as anxiety and mood disorders, substance abuse disorders, and personality disorders. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the canonical analysis of relationships between coping strategies and parental bonding with eating disorders in students.   Methods: The method of the present study was descriptive-correlational. The statistical population included all female undergraduate students of Kosar University of Bojnord in the academic year 2019. The research sample consisted of 250 students who were selected by convenience sampling from all female students of Kosar University of Bojnord. To collect data, the eating attitude test (EAT-26, 1982), coping with stressful situation questionnaire (CISS, 1994), and parent bonding instrument (PBI, 1979) were used. The collected data were analyzed using canonical correlation. Results: The Results showed that components of parental banding, care (0.43, 0.42, and 0.43), and overprotection (0.39, 0.29, and 0.22) were positively related to eating disorders subscales (P 0.01); additionally, from coping strategies’ components emotion-oriented  (0.12, 0.14, and 0.14) and avoidance-oriented coping (0.24, 0.22, and 0.16) had positive significant relationship with eating disorders (P 0.05). Canonical correlation also indicated the predictive role of parental bonding on eating disorders (P 0.001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that teaching adaptive coping strategies and parental involvement in treatment interventions can prevent and reduce eating disorders in students.