Testing the Biobehavioral Family Model in Understanding the Eating Problems of Adolescent Girls

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study was done to test a hypothesized model, the Biobehavioral Family Model (BBFM), on the relationship of family emotional climate, security of parent-child relationship, depression symptoms and eating problems in adolescent girls, to further understanding of eating problems in this population. METHODS: With a convenience sample of 647 girls, aged 15 to 18, a self-report survey was conducted which included the Korean form of the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) to assess eating problems. RESULTS: The estimated results of the structural equation modeling indicated a good fit of data to the hypothesized model proposing that family emotional climate and security of parent-child relationship were associated with the risk of eating problems by way of depression symptoms. That is, negative family emotional climate and insecure parent-child relationship increased the risk of eating problems indirectly by way of depression symptoms. CONCLUSION: The findings are consistent with the BBFM, which suggests a psychobiologic influence of specific family processes on children's stress-sensitive physical disease activity by way of depression symptoms. Therefore, the applicability of the BBFM for understanding adolescent girls' eating problems is supported. The psychobiologic pathways from depression to eating pathology should be addressed in future studies.