Influence of maternal feeding restrictions on the mother-daughter dyad

Alimentary restraint, cognitive variable related to eating behavior and obesity, is reportedly a valuable predictor for the development of therapeutic strategies. This paper addresses the relationship between maternal restraint and several psychological variables in their daughters (alexithymia, neuroticism, extraversion). From the study of 35 mother-daughter dyads it can be concluded that daughters of highly restrained mothers tend to present high scores in the Restraint scale of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire of Stunkard and Messsick, translated into Spanish and validated as Cuestionario de Conducta Alimentaria. Daughters of highle restrained mothers present also higher scores in the Neuroticism scale of the revised version of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Daughters of mothers with low Restraint scores are in average higher than those of their mothers, although lower than those belonging to daughters of highle restrained mothers. Previous observations on the positive correlation between Disinhibition and Hunger of the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire are confirmed. These results add an additional risk factor for obesity (mothers with high Restraint) and contribute to delineate a set of psychometric indicators which might be useful in the diagnosis and prognosis of eating and body weight disorders.