Social Support as a Moderator of the Effects of Loneliness on Emotional Eating in Parent-Adolescent Dyads

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Background: Previously published research using the National Cancer Institute’s Family Life, Activity, Sun, Health, and Eating (FLASHE) study has shown that social support and loneliness are both correlated with eating behavior (Mason, 2020; Welch et al., 2019). Previous FLASHE research suggests that levels of adolescent and parent loneliness impact their respective eating behaviors, while also showing a dyadic influence (Mason, 2020). Another study examining the dyadic consequences of social support for eating behavior using the FLASHE dataset showed that among adolescents and parents, both parent-perceived and adolescent-perceived social support were associated with healthier eating behaviors (Welch et al., 2019). Since social support and loneliness are two heavily interrelated social processes, the objective of the current study is to expand upon past work and examine how the presence of social support moderates actor and partner effects of loneliness on emotional eating among parent-adolescent dyads (N = 2938) in the FLASHE dataset. That is, we seek to explore whether social support may act to decrease the negative impact that loneliness has on emotional eating.

Method: Data for these analyses are from the FLASHE study of parent–adolescent dyads. A secondary analysis was conducted using Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling. We controlled for participants’ sex and self-reported BMI. The final sample consisted of the 1469 parent–adolescent dyads (N = 2938). Parents and adolescents responded to items corresponding to loneliness (UCLA Loneliness scale), social support and emotional eating (Eating in the Absence of Hunger Questionnaire). For social support, adolescents rated support provided by their parents (i.e., “I can count on my parent if I have a problem”), and parents also rated the perceived support that they provided to their adolescents (i.e., “My teenager can count on me if he/she has a problem”).

Results: Consistent with previous research, greater individual-level loneliness was related to increased emotional eating for parents (𝛃 = 0.32, p < .0001) and adolescents (𝛃 = 0.32, p < .0001). Moreover, both partner effects were significant after controlling for BMI and sex, such that more adolescent loneliness was associated with increased parent emotional eating (𝛃 = 0.10, p < .001) and more parent loneliness was associated with increased adolescent emotional eating (𝛃 = 0.08, p < .001). Adolescent-reported support received from parents significantly moderated the relationship between adolescent loneliness and adolescent emotional eating (𝛃 = -.06, p < .01), but social support (both adolescent or parent reported) did not significantly moderate any other actor or partner effects of loneliness on emotional eating.

Discussion: These findings are consistent with previous FLASHE research, such that there were significant actor and partner effects of loneliness on emotional eating as was found in Mason’s work (2020). The current study expanded upon this by exploring the role that social support plays in moderating these effects. The significant buffer that adolescent, but not parent-reported social support has on the relationship between adolescent loneliness and emotional eating illustrates the importance of adolescents’ subjective experience of support, rather than parents’ perceptions of their relationships with their children.

Group Authors

Jamie Zhang, Ayumi Tachida, and Ana DiGiovanni

Authors

• Jamie Zhang, Columbia University
  Presenting Author

• Ayumi Tachida, Columbia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ana M. DiGiovanni, Columbia University
  Non-Presenting Author