Yang Jingjing, Wu Jinyan, Zhu Linlin, Chen Chao, Zhou JinRui, Yang Lei, Li Xueni, Su Yunai, Kong Qingmei, Si Tianmei
NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100101, China.
J Eat Disord. 2025 Aug 13;13(1):175. doi: 10.1186/s40337-025-01371-2.
Eating concerns are core symptoms of eating disorders (EDs). Attachment theory assists in understanding the underlying psychological mechanisms behind eating concerns and suggests that the relationship between eating concerns and parenting styles may be connected through patients' self-compassion. Consequently, the present study aims to investigate the relationship between parenting styles and eating concerns, along with the mediating role of self-compassion.
This cross-sectional study enrolled 177 female patients diagnosed with EDs. Eating concerns were assessed via the Eating Concerns subscale of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire 6.0 (EDE-Q 6.0). Parenting styles were evaluated via the short-form Egna Minnen av Barndoms Uppfostran for Chinese (s-EMBU-C). Self-compassion was measured via the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS). Spearman correlation analysis explored relationships among the dimensions of maternal and paternal parenting styles (i.e., emotional warmth, rejection, overprotection), self-compassion, and eating concerns. Based on these results, mediation analysis was conducted, with self-compassion as mediator.
Correlation analysis indicated eating concerns positively correlated with paternal overprotection. For maternal parenting styles, eating concerns positively correlated with rejection and overprotection, but negatively with emotional warmth. Eating concerns negatively correlated with self-compassion. Mediation analysis revealed that self-compassion fully mediated the relationships between eating concerns and four specific parenting styles: paternal overprotection, maternal rejection, maternal overprotection, and maternal emotional warmth.
Our results indicate distinct associations between maternal and paternal parenting styles and eating concerns, with self-compassion functioning as a full mediator. These findings may expand understanding of links between early attachment-related experiences and EDs by clarifying parental roles and identifying self-compassion as a explanatory factor, highlighting value in addressing these via family-based therapy and fostering self-compassion in ED interventions.
饮食相关问题是饮食失调（EDs）的核心症状。依恋理论有助于理解饮食相关问题背后的潜在心理机制，并表明饮食相关问题与养育方式之间的关系可能通过患者的自我同情建立联系。因此，本研究旨在探讨养育方式与饮食相关问题之间的关系，以及自我同情的中介作用。
这项横断面研究招募了177名被诊断为饮食失调的女性患者。通过饮食失调检查问卷6.0（EDE-Q 6.0）的饮食相关问题分量表评估饮食相关问题。通过中文版简式父母教养方式问卷（s-EMBU-C）评估养育方式。通过自我同情量表（SCS）测量自我同情。Spearman相关分析探讨了父母养育方式维度（即情感温暖、拒绝、过度保护）、自我同情和饮食相关问题之间的关系。基于这些结果，以自我同情为中介进行中介分析。
相关分析表明，饮食相关问题与父亲的过度保护呈正相关。对于母亲的养育方式，饮食相关问题与拒绝和过度保护呈正相关，但与情感温暖呈负相关。饮食相关问题与自我同情呈负相关。中介分析表明，自我同情完全中介了饮食相关问题与四种特定养育方式之间的关系：父亲的过度保护、母亲的拒绝、母亲的过度保护和母亲的情感温暖。
我们的结果表明，父母养育方式与饮食相关问题之间存在明显关联，自我同情起到完全中介作用。这些发现可能通过阐明父母角色并将自我同情确定为一个解释因素，来扩展对早期依恋相关经历与饮食失调之间联系的理解，突出了通过家庭治疗解决这些问题以及在饮食失调干预中培养自我同情的价值。
