Associations among parent-adolescent relationships, pubertal growth, dieting, and body image in young adolescent girls: A short-term longitudinal study

This investigation examined the degree to which pubertal development and pa rent-adolescent relationships were associated with girls' current and futur e dieting and body image. Via longitudinal path models, we also separately tested the possibility of bidirectional effects between parental relationsh ips and dieting and parental relationships and body image. Early adolescent girls (N = 127) who were predominantly of normal weight, were seen for 2 c onsecutive years (M = 12.19 and M = 13.15 years), completed measures assess ing their dieting, body image, and relationships with their parents, and ha d their weights and heights measured. Mothers rated their daughters' pubert al growth by indicating their daughters' level of breast development using the Tanner rating system. Results indicate that girls' perceptions of their relationships with their parents were associated with their dieting attitu des and behaviors, and body image at Time 1 and Time 2. Body mass (kg/m(2)) was only associated in the concurrent regression models. Potential bidirec tional effects between parental relationships and dieting or body image rev ealed significant longitudinal direct effects from parental relationships t o dieting and to body image. Findings indicate that for this sample of Whit e, middle-class, young adolescent girls, it appears that negative parent-ad olescent relationships are linked to higher diet scores over the 1-year per iod; however, higher dieting scores are not linked to deteriorating family relationships over time.