Family Functioning and Body Image

Abstract

Body image is a key aspect of the development of the self, for which family dynamics are critical. Current review examines evidences from the recent literature regarding the associated and predictive factors of body dissatisfaction emerging within the familiar context. First, it is considered the relationship of the implicit parental role in modeling, and the overt attitudes and beliefs regarding eating habits with body evaluation. Then they examined studies relating familiar interactions to the internalization in the offspring of cultural pressures such as the “thin ideal.” Attachment theory provides a framework within which early significant relationships are coded into stable models of self and others evaluation. Attachment style assessment is today increasingly applied in a wide range of psychopathologies and also in the study of the development of body satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Sometimes research points to different pathways for explaining the interactions with maternal and paternal figures. Longitudinal research generally confirms the influence of the quality of early parent–child relationship on later body dissatisfaction. Thoroughly well-designed studies can pinpoint the age of emergence of body dissatisfaction and modulation of effects of early familiar interactions across the life span. Strategies of familiar intervention and prevention of body image disturbances are discussed.