Research on body image and eating within the mother-daughter dyad tends to emphasize the influence that mothers may have on daughters, with little focus on the concomitant influence that daughters may have on mothers. Utilizing the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) within a sample of mothers and their daughters within three age ranges (middle school, high school, and college, N = 356 dyads), we examined relations between mother and daughter body dissatisfaction and restrictive eating and bulimic symptoms. Results indicated that mother and daughter body dissatisfaction significantly predicted their own eating pathology (actor effects). Although no significant partner main effects occurred, a notable actor-partner interaction was obtained; mothers\' body dissatisfaction significantly predicted higher levels of their own restrained eating only when their daughters were ages 16 and older. In addition, a moderated actor effect was found for bulimic symptoms, such that the relation between a daughter\'s body dissatisfaction and her own bulimic symptoms became progressively stronger as her age increased. Overall, the findings provide replication of actor effects, with partial support for mutuality of mother and daughter influence.

Research has demonstrated that mothers transmit body-related attitudes and eating behaviors to their daughters, but little is known about the role of self-compassion-treating oneself with kindness and being mindful about one\'s experiences-in this transmission. This research examined the intrapersonal and interpersonal associations between mothers\' and daughters\' self-compassion, body esteem (i.e., positive self-evaluations about one\'s appearance), and emotional eating (i.e., the tendency to eat in response to negative affect). Dyads (N = 191) of Canadian mothers (mean age: 57.37) and daughters (mean age: 28.76) completed self-report questionnaires. Dyadic, structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses were conducted to examine relationships among the study variables. Controlling for mothers\' and daughters\' body mass index, self-compassionate mothers and daughters reported higher body esteem. Additionally, daughters of self-compassionate mothers were more self-compassionate and had higher body esteem, which in turn predicted lower emotional eating. Adding to the literature on the intergenerational transmission of eating-related attitudes and behaviors, results suggest a relation between mother and daughter self-compassion, body esteem, and eating behaviors. Results also showed that attitudes toward oneself were related to eating behaviors. Mothers\' self-compassion might provide a model for daughters, which in turn is associated with daughters\' improved body esteem and eating behaviors.

This study investigated if three maternal eating styles (emotional eating style, external eating style, and restrained eating style) predict respective eating styles in children. In particular, we tested if these associations are different in mother-daughter dyads, compared to mother-son dyads. Data were collected twice, at the baseline (Time 1; T1) and at the 10-month follow-up (Time 2; T2), with N = 822 mother-child dyads participating at T1. Children (55% girls, 5-12 years old, M = 8.21, SD = 1.40) were interviewed; mothers (aged 23-59 years old, M = 35.93, SD = 5.24) completed the questionnaire assessing their eating styles. Participants\' weight and height were measured objectively. Path analysis, accounting for dyadic interdependency and autocorrelations, was applied. In mother-daughter dyads, maternal emotional eating (T1) predicted daughters\' emotional eating (T2) whereas maternal restrained eating (T1) predicted daughters\' restrained eating (T2). There were no effects of external eating in mother-daughter dyads. A different pattern of associations was found for mother-son dyads, with maternal emotional eating (T1) and external eating (T1) predicting sons\' emotional eating (T2) and external eating (T2), respectively. There was no effect of maternal restrained eating in mother-son dyads. Maternal eating styles explain child\'s eating styles with distinct effects depending on child\'s sex. Educating mothers about the effects of their own eating styles on daughters\' and sons\' eating styles might be useful to promote adequate responses to hunger and satiety signals.