Relationships between family conflict, perceived maternal verbal messages, and daughters’ disturbed eating symptomatology

The objective was to investigate relationships between family conflict and the perceived communication of negative messages regarding weight and shape from mothers to daughters, and daughters’ disordered eating symptomatology. A correlational study was conducted in which a questionnaire was completed by 315 women aged between 14 and 28 years. The sample comprised both secondary school students (n=196) and university students (n=119). Disordered eating symptomatology was operationalised as drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and bulimic symptoms. Family conflict and the perceived frequency of negative messages regarding weight and shape communicated from mothers were also reported by participants. With current BMI treated as a covariate, support was provided for the proposition that frequency of negative messages is a more important contributor to disordered eating symptomatology than family conflict for both secondary school students and university students. However, for secondary students there was no relationship between family conflict and drive for thinness. Recommendations for future research are provided, including the possibility of considering the perception of both positive and negative weight-related messages, and the relative importance of such messages when conveyed by people other than the maternal figure, such as fathers, siblings and peers.