The relationship between mothers' thin-ideal and children's drive for thinness: A survey of Japanese early adolescents and their mothers

Yoko Yamazaki; Mika Omori

doi:10.1177/1359105314522676

The relationship between mothers' thin-ideal and children's drive for thinness: A survey of Japanese early adolescents and their mothers

J Health Psychol. 2016 Jan;21(1):100-11. doi: 10.1177/1359105314522676. Epub 2014 Mar 6.

Authors

Yoko Yamazaki¹, Mika Omori²

Affiliations

¹ Ochanomizu University, Japan.
² Ochanomizu University, Japan omori.mika@ocha.ac.jp.

PMID: 24607924
DOI: 10.1177/1359105314522676

Abstract

We examined the association of mothers' thin-ideal internalization and children's drive for thinness. Early adolescents (175 girls and 198 boys) completed a questionnaire to assess their drive for thinness and perceptions of mothers' attitudes and behaviors related to body shape. The questionnaire for mothers (n = 206) measured mothers' thin-ideal internalization. Mothers' thin-ideal internalization was associated with girls' drive for thinness through the perception of mothers' attitudes directed to girls, and with boys' drive for thinness through mothers' weight-loss behavior. The findings suggest the possibility that mothers transmit social standards on body shape to their children.

Keywords: drive for thinness; early adolescents; gender differences; maternal influences; thin-ideal internalization.

MeSH terms

Attitude*
Body Image / psychology*
Child
Female
Humans
Japan
Male
Mother-Child Relations
Mothers / psychology*
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Thinness / psychology*