Eating attitudes among Hungarian adolescents

Introduction: According to the literature, mentalizing difficulties and insecure emotional attachment styles occur more frequently among adolescents with eating disorders. The role of mentalization in the relationship between emotional attachment styles and eating attitudes has not been investigated among Hungarian adolescents. Objective: We investigated the relationship between mentalization, emotional attachment and eating attitudes among adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age. Method: After informed consent, 143 adolescents filled out the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, the Experience in Close Relationship Scale, and the Eating Attitudes Test in our study. Results: The direct path between the emotional attachment total score and dieting was not significant (c' = 0.01, p = 0.31, beta = 0.09), while the indirect path between emotional attachment and eating attitudes through mentalization uncertainty proved to be significant (sigma ab = 0.01 [0.01-0.02], beta = 0.07). Discussion: Our results suggest that the attachment style plays a role in dieting through mentalizing among adolescents. Conclusion: We recommend mentalization-based methods to change attitudes about dieting among adolescents.