The predictive role of perceived parental attitudes and attachment styles on eating attitudes

The main purpose of the research is to examine whether perceived parental attitudes and attachment styles have a predictive role on eating attitudes. The sample of the study consists of male and female individuals who are university students in Istanbul. The scales in the study were applied to 203 participants. An 'Informed Consent Form' was given to the participants to inform them about the research, and a 'Sociodemographic Form' was applied to learn their sociodemographic information. Then, the 'Parental Attitude Scale' was applied to score Perceived Parental Attitudes, the Three-Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale was applied to evaluate attachment styles, and the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-40) was applied to evaluate deteriorations in eating attitudes. The level and direction of the relationship between the scales were examined with Pearson Correlation analysis. Additionally, Independent Groups t-test and ANOVA tests were used to examine the differences of the scales according to demographic variables. Simple and Multiple Linear Regression methods were used for predictive analysis. When the hypotheses put forward in the research are evaluated, the independent variable of secure attachment predicts eating attitude. In addition, according to the findings, the acceptance/interest independent variable predicts eating attitude. It was found that the independent variable acceptance/interest negatively predicted eating attitude. In addition, the independent variable of psychological autonomy predicts eating attitude. The results show that the independent variable of psychological autonomy negatively predicts eating attitude. In summary, secure attachment, which is the sub-dimension of attachment styles; the independent variables of acceptance/caring and psychological autonomy, which are sub-dimensions of perceived parental attitudes, predict eating attitudes.