Shaking up the system: the role of change in maternal-adolescent communication quality and adolescent weight loss.

OBJECTIVE The association between directly observed mother-adolescent weight-related communication quality and adolescent percent overweight within the context of an adolescent weight control study was examined. METHODS As part of a larger study examining the impact of a behavioral weight control intervention that included attention to parent-adolescent communication (Standard Behavioral Treatment + Enhanced Parenting, SBT + EP) compared with an efficacious Standard Behavioral Treatment (SBT), 38 mother-adolescent dyads participated in a weight-related videotaped discussion. Discussions were taped and collected pre- and postintervention. RESULTS No significant differences emerged in the quality of mother-adolescent communication between SBT (n = 19) and SBT + EP (n = 19) participants, nor was baseline mother-adolescent communication quality associated with adolescents' weight loss in either condition. However, a decline in communication quality was associated with better outcomes for adolescents participating in the SBT group. CONCLUSIONS This study provides preliminary evidence that a change in mother-adolescent communication is associated with successful weight loss among adolescents.