The relationship between disordered eating attitudes and poor social skills

Young women are more likely to have disordered eating attitudes and poor social skills. A new study proves that this category of women have these problems, if their mother often communicate criticism. The study is published in the National Communication Association`s journal, Communication Monographs and is entitled “Family Interactions and Disordered Eating Attitudes: The Mediating Roles of Social Competence and Psychological Distress”. Analisa Arroyo, Ph.D., the study`s lead author, assistant professor of communication at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA talks about “family expressed emotion” which she explained as “an extraordinarily harmful pattern of criticism, over-involvement, excessive attention, and emotional reactivity that is usually communicated by parents toward their children”. Disordered eating attitudes involve “body dissatisfaction and unhealthy weight control beliefs and practice”, the investigators wrote. “It appears that this corrosive form of family communication is particularly damaging to individuals` sense of self and well-being, as it seems to promote a struggle for control and self-enhancement”, she said. “We believe that disordered eating can develop as a compensatory technique for dealing with social incompetence and negative emotions”. The results were concluded based on evaluations made on mothers with their daughters, averaging 21 years, regarding this issue. The investigators suggest that: “By focusing on healthy parent-child relationships and teaching their children effective communication skills, such social competence may serve as a protective factor in the development of psychological distress and disordered eating attitudes”.