The Relationship Between Attachment Styles and Parenting Styles whit Eating Behaviors: The Meditation Roles of Emotion Regulation and Mentalization in Children

Subject Areas : روان‌شناسی تحولی

Roya Jaliz ¹ , Zainab khanjaani ² , تورج هاشمی ³

1 - PhD student in General Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
2 - Department of psychology
3 - دانشگاه تبریز

Received: 2024-04-06 Accepted : 2024-12-30 Published : 2025-04-29

Keywords: emotional regulation, mentalization, attachment, parenting style, eating behaviors,

Abstract :

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between attachment and parenting styles with eating behaviors through the mediation of emotional regulation and mentalization of children. The research method was descriptive-correlation. The statistical population was formed by the children of Tabriz city in 2023. 240 people were selected as a sample by cluster random sampling. The research tools include Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) by Wardle, Guthrie, Sanderson & Rapoport (2001), Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) by Shields and Cicetti (1998), Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment-Revised (IPPA) by Armsden and Greenberg (1989), Parenting Style Inventory 2 (PSI II) by Darling and Toyokawa (1997) and the mentalization questionnaire by Fonagy, Target, Steele & Steele (1998). Structural equation analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed the optimal fit of the research model. The results showed that attachment and all three responsive parenting styles, autonomy and solicitation and eating behaviors with the mediation of emotional regulation have a significant relationship. Also, revealed that the mediating role of mentalization in the relationship between the three styles of responsiveness, autonomy and request and attachment with children's eating behaviors is not significant. These results show that nutritionists and child psychologists in examining and treating children's eating behavior problems should pay attention to the role of children's emotional regulation with regard to their attachment to their parents as well as the parenting style used for these children.

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