Long-Term Effects of Maternal and Paternal Emotional Distress, Eating, and Body Image on Children’s Weight: The Mediating Role of Child Social Functioning

Objective.Previous research has highlighted associations between parental mental health and body image concerns for children's development, but most studies have focused on maternal patterns.The current study aimed to examine the effects of both maternal and paternal emotional distress, body image, and eating regulation on children's social functioning and body mass index (BMI z-scores) over time.Design.The study included 91 couples and their children, ages 4 to 9 years, with data collected at four time-points over 12 months.Selfreport questionnaires assessed parental measures, and children's measures were tracked to analyze the long-term effects of parental patterns.The analysis used an actor-partner twostep mediation model in a structural equation modeling framework, examining both direct and indirect effects of parental factors on children's BMI, with children's social functioning as a mediator.Results.Parental emotional distress, especially maternal anxiety and depression, was strongly associated with children's social functioning difficulties, and both maternal and paternal body image correlated with their own poor eating regulation.By including both parents and examining a reversed mediation pathway, the study revealed that children's social functioning mediated the relation between parental emotional distress and children's BMI.Furthermore, maternal preoccupation with body image concerns had a direct association with children's BMI z-score trajectories.Conclusions.This study highlights the importance of considering both maternal and paternal factors in understanding children's social and physical development.Interventions should adopt a familycentered approach to effectively improve children's outcomes.