“She only loves me when I’m dieting”: The role of memorable messages from parents in Latino emerging adults’ body image

Abstract

Latinos living in the U.S. must negotiate traditional Latino cultural expectations while simultaneously navigating U.S. norms around body image. Insights into Latino family communication about body image and food may explain lower rates of receiving care and identify key areas of interventions in this area. Therefore, the current study explores the perceived content, strategies, and justifications of the messages Latino adult children receive about weight. Iterative analysis of written responses (N = 60) identified three key perceptions of parent-child communication and message internalization: (a) the content of weight-related messages, (b) the strategies for communicating those messages, and (c) justifications or reasons for parents communicating messages about weight. Results reveal that adult children often describe their parents as having good intentions. However, these weight-related messages often had negative implications for the receiver, as participants described feeling their value in the family being tied to weight or developing disordered eating habits. These themes underscore the role parents play in the body image and eating socialization process for their children and the negative impacts this process may have, regardless of intent.