Disordered eating behaviours and basic psychological need satisfaction: the mediating role of anxiety symptoms in preadolescents

Abstract

Objective: According to self-determination theory, satisfied basic psychological needs can be a protective factor for psychopathology, including eating disorders and anxiety symptomatology. However, most research has focused on adolescent and adult populations, with less work examining perceived basic psychological need satisfaction from parents in younger samples who report anxiety and disordered eating. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate whether basic psychological need satisfaction from parents was associated with disordered eating in preadolescents and whether anxiety mediated this relation. Method: A total of 211 preadolescents were recruited from primary schools across south Wales (mean age = 10.27 years, age range = 9–11 years; 49.3% female). Children completed self-report questionnaires on their basic psychological need satisfaction when with parents, as well as disordered eating and anxiety symptoms. Results: It was found that higher needs satisfaction was associated with lower disordered eating and anxiety, with stronger relations found in girls compared with boys. Furthermore, anxiety was found to mediate this relationship. Conclusions: Results suggest that basic psychological needs satisfaction may play an important role in the early emergence of co-occurring disordered eating and anxiety symptoms in boys and girls. The importance of considering anxiety symptoms in future work investigating needs satisfaction in the context of disordered eating and eating disorders is discussed.