Parental Expressed Emotion and Restrictive Eating Patterns: A Cross-Sectional Study of Urban Adolescents in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu

ABSTRACT Background: Adolescence is characterized by developmental phase which makes them susceptible for food disorders. Traditional families are at odds with modern peers which leads to behavioral problems among people living their lives as part of an Indian population. This research aims at understanding how parental expressions affect adolescent restriction eating behavior. Methods: This is an observational cross-sectional survey of 300 adolescents, 150 boys and girls aged 13-18 years, from Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. The data were collected using convenience sampling by quota for genders to ensure equal representation. The tool was developed by adapting the Parental Authority Questionnaire and the Eating Attitudes Test to identify perceived parental criticism and restrictive behaviours. Jamovi statistical software was used to perform Cronbach’s alpha, Pearson correlation, and Ordinary Least Squares linear regression analyses. Results: The sub-scales are reliable with alpha scores of .86 and .83 for Parental Expressed Emotion and Restrictive Eating Patterns. There is a strong positive correlation between parental criticism and restrictive eating behaviors (r =.59, p <.001). Regression analyses showed that parental expressed emotion predicted adolescent restrictive eating accounting for 35.1% of the variance (β = .56, R² = .351, F (1, 298) = 161.3, p < .001). Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between strict parental supervision of diet intake of children. The findings highlight the need for secondary preventive counselling interventions in the schools to foster healthy relationship between both the parents and the adolescent. Keywords: Expressed Emotion of Parents, Restrictive Eating Behaviour, Urban Adolescents, Tamil Nadu, Family Dynamics.