Effects of Parental Control on Adolescent Body Dissatisfaction

Abstract

Body dissatisfaction is most prevalent in adolescence when boys and girls experience physical changes in their bodies. The aim of the current study was to test the predictive effect of parental pressure and overt control on body dissatisfaction among Singaporean adolescents (N = 155). Self-reported measures designed to assess adolescents’ body dissatisfaction, body-related parental pressure, and parental overt control on food intake were administered to adolescents aged 13–20 years (M = 17.22, SD = 1.85). The data were analyzed with a series of hierarchical regression and Pearson correlation tests. Path analyses were performed separately for males (N = 50) and females (N = 100). The results showed that only parental overt control positively predicted body dissatisfaction in adolescent girls. Neither body-related parental pressure nor overt control predicted body dissatisfaction in adolescent boys. Implications of the findings were broadly discussed.