Over-weight and Over-schedule Mediating the Relationship of Maternal Stress and Decision Making with Emotional and Social Impairment of Adolescent

Abstract

Maternal stress is associated with their adolescents’ overweight or obesity, fast food consumption, less physical activity and variety of behavioral problem. But few researches have done on this topic. For this reason, present research has been undertaken. Objective of the current research was to find out whether overweight and over schedule have any mediating relationship of maternal stress and decision making with emotional and social impairment of adolescent. Two hundred eleven over weight adolescents (11-14 years) were selected purposively from Dhaka based different public and private schools. Their mothers were also included in the study. Another one hundred twenty-nine adolescent participants of normal body weight and their mothers were also selected as control subjects. Life stress questionnaire, Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ), Over scheduled scale for adolescents and BECK Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment were used in the study for collecting information from participants. Parallel mediation analysis, Pearson product moment correlation, descriptive statistical analysis, t-test and F test were used to analyze the scores. Findings revealed that, maternal stress has a significant and positive direct effect on adolescents overweight (a=.51) and over scheduling (d=.59) and the direct effect of adolescents’ overweight and over schedule on their emotional and social impairment is statistically significant(b=.35), (e=.52). Maternal stress has a significant and positive indirect effect on adolescents emotional and social impairment(c’=.49). Maternal decision making has a significant and positive direct effect on adolescents overweight (a=.47) and over schedule (d=.58). The direct effect of adolescents’ overweight and over schedule on their emotional and social impairment was statistically found significant(b=.35), (e=.52). Maternal decision making has a significant and positive indirect effect on adolescents emotional and social impairment(c’=.45). Results of correlation indicated that adolescents over schedule is positively correlated with emotional and social impairment (r=.785), maternal stress (r=.593) and maternal decision making (r= .575). Emotional and social impairment of adolescents is positively correlated with maternal stress (r= .524) and maternal decision making (r= .507).