The influence of the family on the formation of eating and weight disorders

Abstract

The аim is to study family influence on formation of eating and weight disorders. The concept of an “alimentary family” is defined as a family with dysfunctional, disharmonious relationships, which is a prerequisite for emergence and support of distorted patterns of eating behaviour, leading in the future to children’s eating and weight disorders.

Methods: The research was carried out using the method of a thematic retrospective analysis (MTRA)-food, which is a variant of the narrative method, the questionnaire "Parental convictions and control tactics as for eating behaviour of their children during food taking". The data was processed by the content analysis method; Fisher's φ-criterion was used to compare differences between the groups.

Results: The research has allowed us to clarify eating behavioural characteristics and to identify the “roots” of eating disorders. Various forms of forcing at eating, direct and indirect ways of making children to eat or blocking of eating are manifested in ignoring of children’s taste preferences, their desire and readiness to eat. Parents often use manipulative techniques influencing children’s eating behaviour (encouragement, inducement, reward promises, approval, recognition, warning, or switching attention), direct means of influence (coercion: prohibition, restriction, rejection, destructive criticism, intimidation, deprivation from various pleasures). There is the statistical confirmation that parents’ use of manipulative means and/or direct coercion towards their children during eating predetermines formation of pathological processes of corporeality, attitudes and psychological mechanisms stipulating eating disorders.

Conclusions: The research results indicate necessity to develop psychotherapeutic programs for people with eating disorders, as well as programs to help parents improve family relationships and, accordingly, to apply correctional effects on their children.