FOOD WORRY LEADS TO LESS UNHEALTHY SNACKING IN ADOLESCENTS, BUT SELF-REGULATION AND GENDER PLAY A ROLE: A MODERATED MEDIATION MODEL

Written by Diana TĂUT, Catrinel CRĂCIUN, Adriana BĂBAN on 22 March 2016. Posted in Volume XX, Nr 1

Authors

Diana TĂUT^1,*, Catrinel CRĂCIUN^1,2, Adriana BĂBAN¹

¹ Department of Psychology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
² Freien Universität, Berlin, Germany

ABSTRACT

Studies investigating the role of gender and different self-regulation (SR) strategies in relationship to eating habits are surprisingly scarce. The present research investigates the role of food worry, gender and self-regulation on unhealthy snacking habits of adolescents using a moderated mediation model. A total of 1500 participants with ages ranging between 10 and 17 years filled-in measures of food worry, self-regulatory strategies (SRS) and the number of unhealthy snacks on a typical day. The results showed that SRS, in particular action towards goal, action towards temptation, and changing the meaning of temptation mediate the relationship between worry and unhealthy snacking. Gender acts as a moderator of the SRS-snacking relationship, with girls showing a stronger relationship than boys between the use of SRS and decreased snacking. Possible explanations regarding this gender-specific relationship are discussed in the prospect of behavioral interventions aimed to improve eating habits of adolescents.

KEYWORDS: self-regulation strategies, adolescents, unhealthy eating, food worry

PAGES:33-34

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