Weight-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Perceptions: The Influence of Mothers’ Behaviors on Daughters’ Self-Esteem and Body Image

Indianapolis, IN

The purpose of this study is to research the correlation between daughters' account of mothers' weight-related behaviors and attitudes, such as dieting, scale-checking, and comments about self, and the effects that these have on their daughters. This is to be done by looking into parent-child relationships, how the mother and daughter are able to communicate with one another, and how the daughters perceive their mother's views of self. The study will be done through the use of a survey, which will be the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale with added questions that specifically apply to the topic of body image and weight-related behaviors as well as memories of her mother's behaviors. The survey will be created on Survey Monkey and sent out to female students ranging from ages 18-25 who attend Huntington University, a small Christian, liberal arts school in Indiana. The subjects will be selected randomly from the university's registrar list and they will receive the survey through their university email.