Family Functioning and Body Image

Body image is a key aspect of the development of the self, for which family dynamics are critical. Here we examine evidence from the recent literature regarding the associated and predictive factors of body dissatisfaction emerging within the familiar context. We consider the influence of parental implicit role modeling and overt attitudes and beliefs regarding eating habits and body evaluation, then examine studies relating familiar interactions to the internalization in the offspring of cultural pressures such as the “thin ideal”. Attachment theory provides a framework within which early significant relationships are coded into stable models of self and others evaluation. Attachment style assessment is today increasingly used in a wide range of psychopathologies and also in the study of the development of body satisfaction and dissatisfaction, sometimes pointing to differential pathways for the interactions with maternal and paternal figures. Longitudinal research generally confirms the influence of the quality of early parent-child relationship on later body dissatisfaction; thoroughly well-designed studies can pinpoint the age of emergence of body dissatisfaction and modulation of effects of early familiar interactions across the lifespan. Strategies of familiar intervention and prevention of body image disturbances are discussed.