Relationships Among Maternal Body Dissatisfaction and Weight-Related Cognitions

Objectives: To examine the differences in weight-related cognitions of mothers with varying degrees of body dissatisfaction. Methods: Body dissatisfaction (BD) is known to affect dietary behaviors, however its relationship to weight-related cognitions (WRC), which may impact maternal feeding behaviors, has not been studied. Thus, this study compared 5 WRC domains, assessed with 10 valid, reliable 5-point Likert scales (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree) of 531 mothers reporting no (n=116), slight (n=192), moderate (n=121), and high (n=102) of BD. Results: Both Self-Efficacy WRC domain scale scores (i.e., Self-efficacy for Promoting Healthy Weight-Related Behaviors [HWRB] for Children [alpha=0.91] and Self-efficacy for Personally Engaging in HWRB [alpha=0.81]) declined steadily as BD increased, then sloped upward in those with High BD. ANOVA and Tukey follow-up tests revealed those having Moderate BD tended to score significantly (p< .05) lower than comparators with less BD. Similar trends were noted for the scales assessing Importance of HWRB (i.e., for Children [alpha=0.87] and Self [alpha=0.79]) and Encouragement/Facilitation of HWRB in Children (alpha=0.84) WRC domains; again, those having Moderate BD tended to score significantly lower than comparators with less BD. For the Modeling of HWRB (Maternal Importance [alpha=0.86]), Outcome Expectations (alpha=0.93), Value of HWRB (alpha=0.97), and Perceived Family Support for HWRB (alpha=0.94) WRC domains, scores also declined as BD increased but turned upward in those with High BD; however, significant differences tended to be noted only between the No BD and Moderate BD groups. Conclusions: It is unclear why those with High BD tended to score more positively on WRC scales, often comparable to those with No BD, and warrants further investigation to clarify the characteristics and/or processes contributing to this finding.