PARENTAL FEEDING PRACTICES AND ADULT EATING PATTERNS: INVESTIGATING EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD FEEDING PRACTICES AND MEDIATING ROLES OF SATIETY RESPONSIVENESS AND EATING SELF-REGULATION

Abstract

Parental feeding practices are an important predictor of maladaptive eating patterns. Yet, there remains a gap in examining the unique contribution of childhood maternal and paternal feeding practices to eating patterns in adulthood. The present study investigates the enduring influence of childhood feeding practices on adult eating patterns in a community sample of 118 young adults in Singapore. Self-report measures were utilized to measure eating patterns, current parental feeding practices in adulthood, and retrospectively assess childhood feeding practices. Results indicated that independent of the influence of parental feeding practices in adulthood, childhood parental restriction predicted greater maladaptive eating patterns while parental pressure to eat did not, highlighting the differential effects of the two controlling feeding practices. The study also explored the parallel mediating roles of satiety responsiveness and eating self-regulation in the pathway between feeding practices and eating patterns, but only found partial support for simple mediation by eating self-regulation in predicting cognitive restraint. Future directions and clinical implications are discussed.