The Role of Gender and Family Satisfaction in Development of Eating Disorders in Young Adults

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to study the role of gender and family satisfaction in the development of eating disorders in young adults. (16-25 years). Eating disorder is a mental and physical illness that involves impaired relationship with eating and body image concerns.it entails distorted beliefs and attitudes about a person’s self-esteem and body image which leads to disturbance in eating related behaviors. Gender has a complex relationship with development of eating disorders.it is evident that women are more prone to developing eating disorders due to unrealistic societal expectations, hormonal imbalances, and body dissatisfaction. In this study a random sampling technique was used to collect a sample of 100 young adults (females n=50, males n=50). Eating attitudes test (EAT-26) and family satisfaction scale was administered through a google form online. Findings suggest that there was a significant difference in eating behaviors with females having higher mean difference than males (mean difference =-.38000). Negligible correlation was found between family satisfaction and the development of eating disorders as indicated by the Pearson correlation value of -0.022. Future findings should focus on the relationship between parenting styles and the development of eating disorders.