The Relation between Family Functioning and Disordered Eating among University Students in Lebanon: The Mediating Role of Resilience

Abstract

Disordered eating has been recognized as a rising concern on college campuses among students. Family functioning has been found to be negatively associated with disordered eating patterns, with a proposed mechanism of lower resilience. Studies have found a positive correlation between family functioning and resilience, and between resilience and disorder eating patterns. Only one study explored this mechanism, finding a mediation effect of resilience on the association between family functioning and disordered eating in a clinical sample. However, no literature has explored this relationship in a non-clinical college sample. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between family functioning and disordered eating patterns, and the mediating role of resilience in a non-clinical sample of male and female college students in Lebanon. An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of undergraduate students at a Lebanese university (N=86) using measures with good psychometric properties, piloted for use with students in Lebanon. Results showed that family functioning was significantly correlated with disordered eating patterns, and with resilience. Only the subscale family cohesion, and not adaptability, was associated with disordered eating. No association was found between resilience and disorder eating. The findings demonstrate the importance of family functioning, particularly cohesion, in playing a role in disordered eating patterns and resilience. The findings also indicate that resilience is not the mechanism that explains the relationship between family functioning and disorder eating for college students in Lebanon. The findings are discussed in the context of multi-level stressors on students at the time of data collection, methodological limitations, and theoretical implications.