Parenting styles and weight-related symptoms and behaviors with recommendations for practice

With the incidence of eating disorders increasing in recent years, the role of parents in the pathology of these illnesses is of great interest, particularly the impact of their parenting style. Few studies have investigated the connection between parenting styles and adolescent eating disorders. Reviewed here are key studies on parenting style categorized into the following four broad areas related to eating disorder pathology: food-related symptoms, feeding style, research on ethnic populations, and populations with eating disorders. The results reflect previous findings on the benefits of the authoritative parenting style. Suggestions for parenting programs and further research are included. (c) 2008 International Life Sciences Institute.