Like mother,like daughter? An examination of the emotive responses to food

Abstract

The modelling of sub-clinical eating disorders and emotive responses to food between mothers and their early adolescent daughters was investigated. Twenty dyads viewed images of food and rated their levels of happiness, fear and disgust. Results suggest similarities between mothers’ and daughters’ emotive responses, but the exact nature of this relationship differed across food type and response type. Disordered eating was only related to responses to the low-calorie foods. Furthermore, mother’s eating disorders symptoms were related to concerns about shape and weight in the daughters (all ps < .05). These results suggest a transmission of emotive responses to food within the dyad which may inform family-based intervention efforts in the prevention of eating disorders in young women.

Keywords

dyadic modelling eating attitudes eating disorders emotive response to food

Body dissatisfaction is becoming increasingly prevalent among young adolescents in Australia and internationally (Lowes and Tiggemann, 2003; McHale et al., 2001). Research has shown the particular vulnerability of young girls to dieting and weight concerns, pointing to the transition period of adolescence as a time of significant risk (Bucchianeri et al., 2013; Polivy and Herman, 2002; Smolak and Levine, 1994). During early adolescence (age 10–14 years), body satisfaction decreases over time while problematic dieting behaviours increase (Byely et al., 2000; Mäkinen et al., 2012). The age of eating disorder (ED) onset is decreasing, and disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) are being observed with increasing frequency in children (Bryant-Waugh, 2013; Gardner et al., 2000). To date, there is little conclusive research regarding the aetiology of EDs during pre-adolescence, although modelling effects have been noted as potentially important (Clark and Tiggemann, 2008; Grabe et al., 2008; Hargreaves and Tiggemann, 2003; Keery et al., 2004). Furthermore, researchers have begun to investigate the role of negative emotions in the early development of ED symptomatology.

Emotional responses to food

Central to the development of EDs are maladaptive cognitions related to weight, shape and food (Coelho et al., 2014; Giel et al., 2011; Liechty and Lee, 2013). In addition to cognitive processes, an individual’s emotional response to food items has been found to be associated with ED symptomatology; however, this relationship is not well understood (Serpell and Troop, 2003). Data from recent research have revealed that negative emotive responses to foods appear to be an inherent feature of an ED, with data revealing that negative emotive responses (disgust and fear) to images of foods were significantly higher in ED individuals compared to people without an ED (Hay and Katsikitis, 2014; Troop and Baker, 2009). This work showed that negative affect is associated with ED symptoms, and in particular, that non-specific anxiety and depression, guilt and shame may be more salient as several studies have found that women with ED symptoms experience more guilt and shame in relation to eating than depressed and non-clinical controls (De Young et al., 2013; Serpell and Troop, 2003).

The recent literature has begun to suggest that negative emotive reactions to food may be related to maladaptive dieting attitudes and behaviours (e.g. Davey et al., 1998; De Young et al., 2013; Giel et al., 2011; McNamara et al., 2008b; Serpell and Troop, 2003). Research has found that when exposed to food-related stimuli, ED individuals were more likely to rate these images as less pleasurable than non-ED individuals (Giel et al., 2011), revealing disgust and fear as the two predominant emotions associated with food (Davey et al., 1998; McNamara et al., 2008a). These studies suggest that negative emotive responses to food may be linked to maladaptive eating behaviours. To date, studies on emotive responses to food have predominantly focused on adult female clinical populations; however, few have investigated these trends among adolescents. In addition, studies have predominantly focussed on negative affective reactions (i.e. disgust and fear) in response to food-related stimuli, but have not looked at positive affective reactions such as happiness. Furthermore, the process by which these emotive responses develop is yet to be investigated.

Mother–daughter relationship

The mother/daughter relationship is arguably the most influential interaction in a preadolescent female’s life (Birch, 1990; Merten and Henry, 2011), and research has shown that mothers serve as significant role models for girls during this period of development (Merten and Henry, 2011; Usmiani and Daniluk, 1997). Research has consistently found strong links between mother and daughter ED psychopathology (e.g. Birch and Fisher, 2000; Jacobi et al., 2008; Pike and Rodin, 1991). Thus, this dyadic relationship may play a fundamental role in the development of EDs in young females; however, the mechanisms for this association require further exploration.

The mother–daughter relationship is unique in that both women experience similar sociocultural pressures to conform to certain beauty ideals (Cooley et al., 2008; Jacobi et al., 2008). Given the potential influence that a mother has on her daughter during childhood and early adolescence, it is possible that mothers who display negative food-related attitudes and behaviours may be modelling these to their daughters. It has been suggested that mothers may act as direct messengers of the sociocultural thin-ideal, transferring their own negative attitudes regarding body image to their daughters (Pike and Rodin, 1991). Consequently, mothers may play a fundamental role in the development and encouragement of maladaptive food-based attitudes and behaviours that may contribute to ED psychopathology. However, little is known about the social modelling effects within the dyad in young girls prior to the development of EDs. This study aimed to address this gap in the literature.

Aims and hypotheses

The study examined whether mothers’ emotive reactions to food images were associated to the daughters’ responses to the same images, and associations with sub-clinical ED symptomatology. Previous research has found that the mother–daughter dyad may act as a means by which unhealthy eating patterns and behaviours are transmitted. Thus, based on the current literature and study aims, it was hypothesised that mothers and their daughters would display a similar level of sub-clinical ED symptomatology. Regarding emotive responses to food stimuli, it was predicted that mothers and their daughters would show a similar pattern of emotive responding to the various food stimuli. It was anticipated that this effect would be associated with each participants’ existing sub-clinical ED symptomatology.

Method

Participants

Twenty mothers and their early adolescent daughters were recruited from a regional Australian university via email and through local high school bulletins. The mean age of mothers was 43.95 years (standard deviation (SD) = 4.24, range = 38 to 54 years), and they had an average body mass index (BMI) of 24.80 (SD = 3.71, range = 19.6–33.30). Fifty per cent (n = 10) of mothers were married, 35 per cent (n = 7) were separated, 10 per cent (n = 2) were widowed and 5 per cent (n = 1) were in a de facto relationship. Sixty-five per cent (n = 13) of mothers had two children, 25 per cent (n = 5) had three children, 5 per cent (n = 1) had one child and 5 per cent (n = 1) had four children. The mean age of daughters participating was 13.05 (SD = 1.19, range = 12–15 years), with an average BMI of 18.94 (SD = 3.01, range = 14.70–25.00). The participants self-reported no previous history with an ED.

Materials

Similar to the design of McNamara et al. (2008b), and Hay and Katsikitis (2014), the current study explored emotive responses to food by exposing participants to images of food and immediately rating their emotive responses of happiness, fear and disgust. An updated set of 25 PowerPoint slides depicting a variety of high-calorie foods (10 images), low-calorie foods (10 images) and five non-food items were presented in a random order to each participant at 2-second intervals.

The images used were sourced using an Internet search and downloaded from image-sharing websites. The images had minimal background stimuli, were food-focused and depicted whole, uneaten food items. Items in the high-calorie category included images of chocolate, cupcakes, a burger and chocolate brownies. Items in the low-calorie group included images of salad, fruit, rice and salmon. To ensure the images accurately depicted food items that would typically be perceived as either high-calorie or low-calorie, 15 images from each category were selected and rated by six independent evaluators (five females, one male) who were postgraduate psychology students. Each image was rated based on their perceived calorie content on a 10-point Likert-type scale ranging from no calories (0) to extremely high in calories (10). The 10 images that had the highest and lowest-rated scores (averaged across raters) were selected for use within the study. In order to ensure that the differences in emotive responses were stimulated specifically by the food images, five non-food images (chair, books, rock, hairbrush, tree) were also included.

Visual analogue scales

Participants rated their level of happiness, fear and disgust for each image on three consecutive and separate Visual Analogue Scales (VAS). Each VAS consisted of a 100 mm line ranging from not at all happy/fearful/disgusted to the most happy/fearful/disgusted I’ve ever felt. A summary mean score for happiness, fear and disgust was calculated for each image type (high-calorie foods, low-calorie foods and non-food images). All analyses were conducted on these scores. VAS scales have been shown to have strong inter-rater reliability (r = .99, p < .001; Hargreaves and Tiggemann, 2003). VAS scales can be completed quickly and are sensitive to subtle emotional change, as prior responses are generally difficult to recall due to the absence of a numbered scale (Heinberg et al., 1995).

ED examination questionnaire

ED risk was assessed using the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q; Fairburn and Beglin, 1994). The EDE-Q is a 28-item self-report version of the Eating Disorder Examination (Cooper and Fairburn, 1987) and is widely used in both clinical and research settings to screen for ED risk. The EDE-Q focuses on disordered eating behaviours and attitudes experienced over the past 28 days, and is scored using a seven-point, forced-choice rating scheme ranging from not at all to markedly. The EDE-Q consists of four sub-scales: Restraint (e.g. ‘have you been deliberately trying to limit the amount of food you eat to influence your shape or weight (whether or not you have succeeded?’)); Weight Concern (e.g. ‘has your weight influenced how you think about (judge) yourself as a person?’); Shape Concern (e.g. ‘have you had a definite desire to have a totally flat stomach?’) and Eating Concern (e.g. ‘have you had a definite fear of losing control over eating?’). Scores for each sub-scale are summed and divided by the number of sub-scale items. A global EDE-Q score can also be computed by summing all items and dividing by the number of sub-scales (i.e. four). Cronbach’s (1951) alpha scores on the EDE-Q reported in previous research have been found within the range of .78–.93 with test–retest correlation scores ranging from .81 to .94 (Luce and Crowther, 1999). The Cronbach’s alpha scores for the current study can be found in Table 1 and ranged from .63 to .93.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix comparing BMI and EDE-Q scores between mothers and daughters.

		M (SD)	α	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1	BMI (m)	24.82 (3.71)		1	.107	.348	.082	.281	.274	.323	−.010	.519*	.134	.071	.005
2	BMI (d)	18.94 (3.00)			1	−.099	.172	−.225	.382	−.016	.175	−.201	.117	.020	−.222
3	EDE-Q global (m)	9.16 (6.25)	.93			1	.279	.703**	−.107	.943**	.197	.897**	.382	.828**	.367
4	EDE-Q global (d)	4.16 (3.83)	.87				1	.498*	.432	.197	.950**	.211	.897**	.171	.567**
5	Eating concern (m)	0.77 (1.16)	.85					1	−.024	.521*	.481*	.651**	.497*	.419	.361
6	Eating concern (d)	0.40 (0.52)	.75						1	−.172	.259	.00	.263	−.092	.235
7	Shape concern (m)	2.18 (1.37)	.87							1	.144	.795**	.339	.757**	.187
8	Shape concern (d)	1.15 (1.17)	.89								1	.072	.802**	.091	.401
9	Weight concern (m)	1.77 (1.27)	.63									1	.314	.605**	.439
10	Weight concern (d)	0.83 (0.94)	.71										1	.221	.455*
11	Restraint (m)	1.37 (1.39)	.84											1	.411
12	Restraint (d)	0.29 (0.42)	.75												1

(m) indicates mother score, (d) indicates daughter score.

p < .05; **p < .001.

Demographic information

Demographic items assessed included age, weight, height, and whether the participant had ever been diagnosed with an ED. BMI (kg/m²) was calculated from the participant’s self-reported height and weight.

Procedure

Mothers and daughters were invited to participate in a study examining emotional responses to food. Prior to the commencement of the study, mothers and daughters were provided with an information pack outlining the purpose, procedure and potential risks of the study. Informed consent was gained from both mothers and their daughters. Ethical approval was gained from the Human Research Ethics Committee at the home institution prior to the commencement of the study.

The dyads arrived together and completed the study in a psychology testing laboratory at the university. Mothers and daughters were each given a separate response booklet and separate computers in the research laboratory and were separated from each other by a large partition that was placed in the centre of the room. There was no communication between mother and daughter for the duration of the testing period. Participants were given verbal and written instructions prior to the commencement of the slideshow of images. Images were presented on an automatic PowerPoint slideshow, changing at 20-second intervals. Participants viewed each image and rated their emotional response on consecutive and separate VAS in their response booklet. Following the slideshow, participants completed the EDE-Q.

Results

Mother and daughter ED risk

There was no missing data across any measures. Descriptive statistics and correlation matrix that compares BMI and EDE-Q scores between mother and daughter groups are shown in Table 1. There was no relationship between mother and daughter global EDE-Q scores; however, significant correlations emerged on a number of sub-scales. Mothers’ Eating Concern was positively associated with daughters’ Shape Concern, Weight Concern and global EDE-Q score, indicating that mother’s preoccupation with food is associated with their daughter’s preoccupation with her shape and weight, as well as overall ED symptomatology. A positive relationship was identified between BMI and Weight Concern for mothers but no other significant associations were found for mothers or for daughters.

Emotive responses to food

To test the hypothesis that mothers and daughters would show similar emotive responses to food stimuli, a series of Repeated Measures Factorial Analysis of Variances (ANOVAs) were employed. Three separate analyses were conducted, exploring each emotive response as dependent variables (i.e. happiness, fear, disgust). In each case, the independent variables were person (i.e. mother and daughter) and image type (high calorie, low calorie and neutral). Support for the hypothesis would be found via a non-significant main effect of person which would indicate that mothers and daughters displayed similar emotional responses. Cohen’s (1988) f denotes small (.10), medium (.25) and large (.40) effect sizes. Table 2 shows the average VAS scores across the three emotive responses across type and person. Examination of the descriptive statistics shows that mothers and daughters responded very similarly. Across all image types, scores for happiness were around the mid-point of the scale while scores for fear were at the lower end of the scale. Very low levels of disgust were noted in response to the low-calorie and neutral images with a slight increase in disgust in response to the high-calorie foods.

Table 2.

Mothers’ and daughters’ emotive responses across image type.

	Happy		Fear		Disgust
	Mother M (SD)	Daughter M (SD)	Mother M (SD)	Daughter M (SD)	Mother M (SD)	Daughter M (SD)
High-calorie foods	60.31 (13.86)	66.28 (15.09)	12.92 (13.39)	7.72 (10.06)	20.37 (15.03)	14.12 (12.63)
Low-calorie foods	69.14 (13.04)	64.42 (14.94)	6.48 (10.19)	7.27 (8.66)	4.28 (4.58)	10.44 (9.77)
Neutral images	64.03 (14.90)	52.46 (18.48)	6.60 (9.27)	11.40 (14.16)	4.90 (6.91)	12.03 (20.18)

For the emotive response scale of happiness, there was no significant main effect for person type (F(1, 19) = .70, p = .41, ƒ = .19), but a significant main effect for image type, F(2, 38) = 7.55, p < .001, ƒ = .91, wherein higher levels of happiness were reported when viewing high-calorie foods (M = 63.30, standard error (SE) = 2.16; trend, p = .053) and low-calorie foods (M = 66.78, SE = 2.23, p = .001) compared to neutral images (M = 58.24, SE = 2.65). This effect should be viewed within the context of a significant interaction between image type and person (F(2, 38) = 7.73, p < .05, ƒ = .78). Paired-samples t-tests were undertaken to compare responses between mothers and daughters for each image type. The follow-up tests indicated that there was no significant difference in level of happiness between mother and daughter for high-calorie (t(19) = −1.24, p = .23) or low-calorie images (t(19) = 1.07, p = .29). There was a significant difference in responses for neutral images (t(19) = 2.18, p < .05), with mothers displaying a stronger happiness response (M = 64.03, SD = 14.90) than daughters (M = 52.46, SD = 18.48).

For the emotive response of fear, there was no significant main effect for person, F(1, 19) = .001, p = .97, ƒ = .03, but a trend towards significance for the main effect for image type, F (2, 38) = 3.16, p = .053. ƒ = .73. Participants reporting a stronger reaction to the high-calorie images (M = 10.33, SE = 1.71) compared to low-calorie images (M = 6.88, SE = 1.44, p < .01). Again, this main effect should be viewed in context of the significant interaction between image type and person, F(2, 38) = 6.72, p < .05, ƒ = .82. However, the paired-samples t-test showed no significant difference in responses between mother and daughter for high-calorie (t(19) = 1.28, p = .21), low-calorie (t(19) = –.25, p = .80) or neutral images (t(19) = –1.13, p = .27). Instead, the interaction was driven by a difference in the mother’s fear response across the three image types, F(2, 18) = 4.82, p = .02, ƒ = .73, with significantly higher fear being reported in response to the high-calorie images (M = 12.92, SE = 3.00) compared to the low-calorie images (M = 6.48, SE = 2.28, p = .008) and the neutral images (M = 6.66, SE = 2.07, p = .008). Conversely, the daughters showed no such difference in fear across the three image types, F(2, 18) = 1.76, p > .05, ƒ = .43.

Finally, for the emotive response of disgust, there was no significant main effect for person, F(1, 19) = .583, p = .45, ƒ = .17, but a significant main effect for image type, F(2, 38) = 12.62, p < .001, ƒ = .61. Levels of disgust were strongest for high-calorie food images (M = 17.25, SE = 1.97) in comparison to low-calorie food images (M = 7.36, SE = 1.35, p < .001) and neutral images (M = 8.47, SE = 2.45, p < .01). A significant interaction between image type and person was observed, F(2, 38) = 5.40, p < .05, ƒ = .61, with follow-up tests showing there to be no significant differences between mother and daughter in the response of disgust to high-calorie foods (t(19) = 1.3, p = .20) or neutral images (t(19) = –1.54, p = .141). However, daughters showed significantly more disgust (M = 10.44, SD = 9.77) than mothers (M = 4.28, SD = 4.58), in response to the low-calorie food images, t(19) = –2.94, p < .01.

Influence of ED vulnerability

Similar to the approach of McNamara et al. (2008b), correlations were conducted between ED symptoms and emotive responses to the food stimuli. For the mothers, disgust in response to the low-calorie foods was associated with global EDE-Q score (r = .52, p = .016) and restraint (r = .60, p = .005). The same pattern emerged for the daughters, in that fear in response to low-calorie foods was associated with global EDE-Q score (r = .47, p = .03) and restraint (r = .43, p = .05). Shape concern was significantly associated with mother’s disgust (r = .53, p = .014) and daughters’ fear response (r = .52, p = .019) to the low-calorie images. That is, ED symptoms were only related to emotive responses to the low-calorie food images.

Discussion

This study investigated the presence of a social modelling effect between mother and daughter with regard to their emotional responses to food and, furthermore, whether these emotive responses were related to sub-clinical ED symptoms. To date, there are a very limited number of mother/daughter experimental studies investigating sub-clinical ED risk. This study sought to address this gap in the literature by examining emotive responses to food in a non-clinical sample of mothers and their adolescent daughters.

Evidence for a modelling effect was found in the correlations between mothers’ and daughters’ ED symptom scores. A maladaptive maternal response to food was associated with daughters’ preoccupation with body shape and size and overall ED risk. These findings suggest that mothers’ concern about food may be associated with body image concerns in her daughter. These findings are consistent with previous studies (e.g. Cooley et al., 2008; McNamara et al., 2008b; Pike and Rodin, 1991) which have found a consistent relationship between maternal eating attitudes and daughters’ weight concerns.

In terms of participants’ emotive responses to food, we extend the findings of McNamara et al. (2008b) by examining emotive responses within the mother/daughter dyad and by separately considering high- and low-calorie foods. We predicted a similarity between mothers’ and their daughters’ emotive responses to food suggesting transference of these food-based emotions. Globally, the findings suggest that there were similarities between mothers’ and daughters’ emotive responses, but the exact nature of this relationship differed across food type and response type. The dyads showed a similar happiness response to the high- and low- calorie foods while the mothers showed more happiness than the daughters in response to the neutral images. These findings show a similarity in response to the food stimuli which suggest a very specific modelling of food-based emotions. Mothers and daughters showed a similar disgust response to the high-calorie images but daughters had significantly higher levels of disgust after viewing the low-calorie food images. Potentially, this disgust to low-calorie food images may stem from adolescents’ limited history of dieting behaviours compared to their mothers. Furthermore, McNamara et al. (2008b) found that negative emotive responses to food reduced with increasing age from pre-teens to teenage years. Thus, age of the participant may have also impacted the difference in emotive response between mother and daughter in the current sample.

The mothers and daughters showed a different pattern of fear responses. Specifically, the mothers reported more fear in response to the high-calorie images compared to the low-calorie and the neutral images. Conversely, the daughters showed no such difference in fear across the three image types. This may be due to the fact that mothers have had more time to consolidate their food-based attitudes and emotions, whereas their daughters may still be developing their beliefs about food (Carper et al., 2000). However, adolescent females may be starting to develop negative emotive responses towards food, and it is likely that these attitudes will continue to develop and consolidate throughout adolescence. The development of these emotions may explain why dieting behaviours significantly increase as female adolescents get older (Carlson Jones, 2004).

The similarities in emotive reactions between mother and daughter provide evidence that food-based reactions may be transmitted within the dyad. The differences between mothers’ and daughters’ responses to some food types point to possible developmental-related differences in the display of these responses. The similarity between mother and daughter in this domain is consistent with the findings of previous studies (e.g. Attie and Brooks-Gunn, 1989; McNamara et al., 2008b; Pike and Rodin, 1991) and supports the theory that a modelling effect may be present between mother and daughter when it comes to food-related emotions. Previous research has identified strong links between mother and daughter dieting behaviours (Pike and Rodin, 1991), and the current findings may suggest that mothers with negative responses to food may be less likely to model healthy food-related reactions for their daughters. This may then translate to maladaptive dieting behaviours (Davey et al., 1998; De Young et al., 2013; Giel et al., 2011). The transference of food-related emotions may help to account for the similarities in ED psychopathology among the mother–daughter dyad (Birch and Fisher, 2000; Jacobi et al., 2008; Pike and Rodin, 1991). Knowledge regarding the early development of maladaptive dieting behaviours and emotive responses to food is crucial as it can assist in prevention and early intervention for the treatment of ED psychopathology.

The final hypothesis concerned the role of ED symptoms in explaining emotive responses to food. Similar to the approach of McNamara et al. (2008b), correlations were conducted between the sub-scales of the EDE-Q and the three emotive responsive scales for both mothers and daughters. In both groups, ED symptoms were only related to emotive responses to the low-calorie food images. For both mothers and daughters, disgust in response to the low-calorie foods was associated with global EDE-Q score and dietary restraint. Furthermore, concern over body shape was significantly associated with mothers’ disgust and daughters’ fear response to the low-calorie images. Again, these results suggest a similarity in emotional responses within the dyad. It is difficult to explain why the relationship between negative emotive responses and ED symptoms were restricted to the low-calorie foods, which are typically considered ‘safe’ (e.g. McNamara et al., 2008a) and not found in response to high-calorie foods. In a qualitative investigation of emotional responses to food in women with EDs, McNamara et al. (2008a) found that many women reported a positive response (such as happiness and enjoyment) when viewing low-calorie foods. However, one participant did note that a bottle of water elicited anxious feelings as large amounts of water were consumed during periods of self-starvation and therefore the image was associated with a loss of control. An alternative explanation is that negative emotions are elicited in response to the low-calorie foods as participants recognise that they are consuming insufficient amounts of these healthier foods due to a focus on avoiding high-calorie foods (e.g. McNamara et al., 2008a). However, the current sample self-reported that they did not have any EDs so it is unclear whether this explanation is also valid in non-clinical samples. Using a similar methodology, McNamara et al. (2008b) also found some positive associations between ED symptoms and positive responses to food in females, but only in those aged 18 years and over. They suggest that ED symptoms can have both positive and negative associations with food as women can simultaneously view foods as both enjoyable and anxiety arousing. Our findings are consistent with this explanation but extend it by showing that these relationships are found within both the mothers and their daughters and are perhaps limited to low-calorie foods.

Our findings only partially supported previous work regarding ED vulnerability and emotive responses to food (e.g. Harvey et al., 2002; McNamara et al., 2008a). However, while prior studies have examined emotive responses to food in clinical ED samples, this study investigated sub-clinical ED traits within a non-clinical sample, and it is possible that the influence of sub-clinical ED symptoms on emotive responses to food may not be as pronounced. The current results are indicative that the link between sub-clinical ED symptoms and emotive responses may be a developmental process, and these reactions may be more sensitive in younger females.

A few limitations should be noted. The small sample size may have reduced the statistical power and the cross-sectional design limits conclusions regarding causality. For example, adolescent girls are likely to learn food-based emotions from additional sources such as peers or the media (McCabe and Ricciardelli, 2001; Story et al., 2002). Replication studies should consider larger sample sizes and the use of longitudinal designs. Furthermore, the use of images as opposed to exposure to real food stimuli may have diluted the strength of the emotional response. Mean scores for fear and disgust were particularly low and therefore may reflect a restriction of range. Only a small number of images were used and it is possible that a larger set of images, or images that were self-selected, may have produced larger effects. Counter-balancing the presentation of these images should be used in future to reduce the possibility of biased responding. Alternatively, it may be that emotive dimensions of fear and disgust were too extreme for a non-clinical sample. Furthermore, it may be that additional outcome measures that are not reliant on self-report (e.g. cognitive measures) may have more sensitive to automatic emotional responses. It should also be noted that this study investigated emotive response to food within the mother–daughter dyad; however, it is plausible that the development of emotive responses to food may also be due to a host of other external social influences (e.g. friends, other family, media) that exert a similar effect on mothers and daughters. Future research may address this by examining the influence of social variables on the development of emotive responses to food and specifically including a control group of non-related mothers and daughters.

In conclusion, findings of this study suggest that there are similarities between mothers and daughters in their ED symptoms and emotive responses to food. Future research is needed to assess whether there are stable differences between ED and non-clinical groups in their emotive responses to food and whether this difference could be used to detect risk of the later development of an eating issue. Furthermore, evidence for social modelling effects can be used to inform family-based intervention efforts in the prevention of EDs in young women.

Footnotes

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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