Body image, psychological functioning, and parental feedback regarding physical appearance

Objective: To investigate the role of parental appearance-related commentar y body image, and psychological functioning in females and males. Method: R etrospective reports of teasing and appearance-based feedback were assessed , along with current levels of body image and overall psychological functio ning. Results: Women and men did not differ in their reports of comments re ceived from mothers, however, women received significantly more appearance- related messages from fathers. Correlational analyses demonstrated signific ant relationships between feedback and body satisfaction for women, but not for men. Regression analyses indicated that fathers' and mothers' teasing about weight were predictive of daughters' body image. For both males and f emales, psychological functioning was significantly predicted from the comb ination of mothers' and fathers' feedback regarding appearance. Discussion: The findings further support an emerging theoretical model of appearance-r elated commentary as a factor in body image disturbance and overall psychol ogical functioning. (C) 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.