Obesity is associated with many well-established health risks as well as high annual public health costs. Intervening in the trajectory of obesity becomes significantly more difficult after a child has reached obesity. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the processes that influence weight early in life. Parents serve as one of the main influences on child health, have a significant impact on the weight of their offspring, and are often incorporated into childhood obesity prevention programs. However, the mutual influence that parents and children have on each other is not accounted for. Using an Actor-Partner Interdependence model, the current study 1) examined the effect of children’s and mother’s temperament (e.g., negative affectivity, effortful control, and impulsivity) on their own weight as well as the weight of the other dyad member, 2) explored the effect of the interaction between mother and child temperament on both members’ weight, 3) assessed the effect of mother’s approach to food on mother and child weight, and 4) investigated how temperament might moderate the relationships between mother’s approach to food and mother and child weight. The sample consisted of 220 mother-child dyads. Children ranged from 4 to 6 years of age. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires on their own temperament and approach to food as well as their child’s temperament. Weight measures were assessed in the laboratory for both mother and child. Results indicated children’s impulsivity was related to their mother’s higher weight. The interaction between mother and child temperament was not significantly associated with weight. However, the interaction between child impulsivity and mother’s approach to food was significant; the effect of the mother’s approach to food on her own weight depended on their child’s impulsivity behaviors. Specifically, mothers’ approach to food on her own weight was nonsignificant when her child showed higher levels of impulsivity. The association of mother’s approach to food with her own weight was stronger when her child exhibited average to low impulsivity levels. This investigation of the influence of mother and child on each other’s weight is well-placed for translation into later obesity preventative and intervention efforts for family systems.

Background: Body acceptance programs on college campuses indicated that collegiate women often report feeling pressure to dress in a sexualized manner, and use makeup to enhance beauty. Currently, no quantitative measures exist to assess attitudes and daily behaviors that may arise in response to perceived pressure to wear makeup or dress in a provocative manner. The goal of the current studies was to develop brief self-report questionnaires aimed at assessing makeup and sexualized clothing use and attitudes in young women.

Methods: An exploratory factor analysis in a sample of 403 undergraduate women was used in Study 1 to create items to measure the pressure women feel to wear makeup and sexualized clothing. A confirmatory factor analysis (N = 153) was used in Study 2 to confirm the factor structure found in Study 1. An incremental validity analysis was also conducted in Study 2. Across both studies, participants completed online questionnaires.

Results: In Study 1, items were developed for two questionnaires to assess perceived pressure to wear makeup and discomfort when not wearing makeup, and perceived pressure to wear sexualized clothing, and body image concerns with regards to sexualized clothing. The exploratory factor analyses revealed Unconfident and Unease scales for the Makeup Questionnaire (MUQ) and Body Dissatisfaction and Pressure scales for the Sexualized Clothing Questionnaire (SCQ). In Study 2, the confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the factor structure for the MUQ and SCQ. The incremental validity analysis revealed that these measures can be used to predict self-objectification and shape and weight concern in women.

Conclusion: These studies provide preliminary support for the factor structure of two novel questionnaires aimed at assessing perceived pressure to wear makeup and sexualized clothing.

Introduction: The current study aimed to explore the prevalence rates of binge-eating and weight compensatory behaviors across sexual minority undergraduate men and women. Methods: The sample included 3411 undergraduate men and women from a large public university. Participants completed a self-report online questionnaire regarding various personality, social networking, and health behaviors. Results: Analyses showed no difference in binge-eating for women, but statistically significant differences across sexual orientation groups for weight compensatory behaviors. Analyses for men showed statistically significant differences between sexual orientation groups for objective-binge eating and self-induced vomiting. There were no differences among men for other behaviors. Discussion: These findings demonstrate both statistically and clinically significant differences across sexual orientation groups indicating that gender as well as sexual orientation bear a correlation to the propensity to engage in certain disordered eating behaviors.