Negative family body talk and negative emotional eating among Chinese adolescent girls and young adult women: The role of body dissatisfaction and feminism consciousness

Wencheng Yang; Gengfeng Niu; Xiaohan Shi; Kuai Song; Yumang Zhang; Zihui Yuan

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2023.106973

Negative family body talk and negative emotional eating among Chinese adolescent girls and young adult women: The role of body dissatisfaction and feminism consciousness

Appetite. 2023 Sep 1:188:106973. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106973. Epub 2023 Jul 6.

Authors

Wencheng Yang¹, Gengfeng Niu², Xiaohan Shi¹, Kuai Song³, Yumang Zhang¹, Zihui Yuan¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430079, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430079, China.
² School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430079, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430079, China; Center for Research on Internet Literacy and Behavior, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China; Central China Normal University Branch, Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment Toward Basic Education Quality, Wuhan, 430079, China. Electronic address: niugfpsy@mail.ccnu.edu.cn.
³ School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, Wuhan, 430079, China; Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430079, China; School of Preschool Education, Hubei Preschool Teachers College, Ezhou, 436032, China.

PMID: 37419281
DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.106973

Abstract

Negative emotional eating has been increasingly a prominent disordered eating and public health problem among young women, especially during COVID-19. Although previous studies have attempted to explain the relationship between body talk and negative emotional eating, limited studies focused on examining the potential mechanisms, especially the potential protective mechanism. Thus, the current study aimed to examine the relationship between negative family body talk (NFBT) and negative emotional eating, as well as its underlying mechanism - the mediating role of body dissatisfaction (BDIS) and the moderating role of feminism consciousness (FC). A cross-sectional study was employed among a sample of Chinese girls and young women (n = 813, M_age = 19.4 years) from a junior college in central China. Participants completed surveys assessing NFBT (Adapted Body Talk Scale), BDIS (Body Image State Scale), negative emotional eating (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire), and FC (Synthesis Subscale from Feminist Identity Composite). A moderated mediation analysis was conducted. The results showed that: (1) after controlling for age and BMI, NFBT was positively associated with negative emotional eating, and BDIS could significantly mediate this relationship (mediating effect = 0.03, 95% CI [0.02, 0.06]); (2) FC significantly moderated both the direct relationship between NFBT and negative emotional eating and the relationship between NFBT and BDIS. Specifically, these two associations were not significant for participants with higher FC (+1SD above average). This study deepens our understanding of the relationship between NFBT and negative emotional eating, as well as the protective role of FC. If future studies demonstrate causal relationships, this evidence could point to a need for programs to prevent negative emotional eating in young women by increasing their level of feminism consciousness.

Keywords: Body dissatisfaction; Feminism consciousness; Negative emotional eating; Negative family body talk.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Body Dissatisfaction*
Body Image / psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
East Asian People
Feeding and Eating Disorders*
Female
Feminism*
Humans
Young Adult