Parent–Child Discrepancy on Children’s Body Weight Perception: The Role of Attachment Security

Abstract

The discrepancies between parents and their children on the description of the behavior and representations of their children have been shown in various studies. Other researchers have reported the parents’ difficulty in correctly identifying the weight status of their children. The purpose of our study was to investigate the parent’s attributional accuracy on their children’s body weight perception in relation to the children attachment security. It was hypothesized that insecure children’s parents have a greater discrepancy with their children compared to secure children with their parents. The research participants were 217 children, aged between 5 and 11 years of both genders, and their parents. The attachment pattern was measured by the SAT of Klagsbrun and Bowlby, with the Italian version of Attili. The children were also shown a set of figure body-drawings with which to measure the perception of their weight status. Parents answered a questionnaire to find out the parental attribution of their children’s perception. The results show that the body weight perception of insecure children’s parents have a greater discrepancy with their children’s body weight perception compared with parentally secure children. In particular, parents of insecure children tend to underestimate the perception of their children. This result is most evident in disorganized children. In addition, the perception of insecure children’s parents show a greater correlation with children’s actual weight rather than with their children’s perception. These results suggest that the discrepancies on the perception of children’s body weight between parents and children may be influenced by the poor parental attunement to their children’s internal states, which characterizes the insecure parent–child attachment relationship.

Sex-Related Difference in the Association Between Child Neglect and the Accuracy of Body Weight Perception Among Chinese Primary Schoolchildren

“…On the other hand, the lack of attachment and security caused by neglect exacerbates the parent-child discrepancy in children's BWP. A study by Uccula et al indicated that parents of children with insecurities had a tendency to underestimate the actual body weight of their children, particularly those who were overweight or obese ( 32 ). In this situation, parents believe that their children perceive themselves as more obese than the parents perceive them, and unconsciously construct an obesogenic family environment ( 32 ).…”

Weight and social comparison: Does the weight of a stranger affect a person’s perception of their own weight?

“…We are not familiar with any previous research that includes a stranger’s assessment of the respondent’s weight. Studies exist that analyze weight assessments by others, but these studies use selective samples (Christensen, 2012; Doolen et al, 2009; Pulvers et al, 2008; Tovee et al, 2000; Vella-Zarb and Mills, 2011) and only a few include measures of both the respondent’s and the observer’s assessment of the respondent’s weight (Goodman et al, 2000; Pulvers et al, 2008; Uccula and Nuvoli, 2017).…”

Words matter: The role of family weight talk in anxiety and depression

“…According to attachment theory, family messages have the capacity to create environments of either safety and security or rejection and abandonment, depending on the nature of the message, and these messages can have implications for psychosocial health (Holmes & Farnfield, 2022). Preliminary literature shows this to be particularly true when messages center beliefs about weight, body image, and food (Kerbs & El‐Alayli, 2016; Uccula & Nuvoli, 2017; Yourell et al, 2021). Weight talk within the family occurs in multiple different forms, including family weight teasing (FWT) and parental encouragement to diet.…”