Motivations for engaging in or avoiding conversations about weight: Adolescent and parent perspectives
Independent samples of parents (N = 1936) and unrelated adolescents (N = 2032) completed questionnaires assessing their agreement with different reasons they engage in, or avoid, parent-adolescent weight communication. Parents, irrespective of sex, race/ethnicity, and child’s weight status, expressed stronger motivations for engaging in weight communication in order for their child to feel good about his/her weight and body size compared to being motivated because a health professional raised their child’s weight as a concern. Adolescent motivations for weight communication with parents stemmed from health concerns and worry about their weight; avoidance stemmed from feeling embarrassed, upset, or not wanting to obsess about weight.
Full citation: Puhl, R. M., Lessard, L. M., Pudney, E. V., Foster, G. D., & Cardel, M. I. Motivations for engaging in or avoiding conversations about weight: Adolescent and parent perspectives. Pediatric Obesity, e12962. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12962