Disordered eating behaviours and basic psychological need satisfaction: the mediating role of anxiety symptoms in preadolescents

Abstract

Objective: According to self-determination theory, satisfied basic psychological needs can be a protective factor for psychopathology,  including eating disorders and anxiety symptomatology. However, most research has focused on adolescent and adult populations, with  less work examining perceived basic psychological need satisfaction from parents in younger samples who report anxiety and disordered  eating. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate whether basic psychological need satisfaction from parents was  associated with disordered eating in preadolescents and whether anxiety mediated this relation.

Method: A total of 211 preadolescents were recruited from primary schools across south Wales (mean age = 10.27 years, age range = 9– 11 years; 49.3% female). Children completed self-report questionnaires on their basic psychological need satisfaction when with parents,  as well as disordered eating and anxiety symptoms.

Results: It was found that higher needs satisfaction was associated with lower disordered eating and anxiety, with stronger relations  found in girls compared with boys. Furthermore, anxiety was found to mediate this relationship.

Conclusions: Results suggest that basic  psychological needs satisfaction may play an important role in the early emergence of co-occurring disordered eating and anxiety  symptoms in boys and girls. The importance of considering anxiety symptoms in future work investigating needs satisfaction in the    context of disordered eating and eating disorders is discussed