Impact of Emotional Neglect and Self-silencing on Body Mass Index and Oral Health Behaviors: A Structural Equation Model Analysis in Undergraduate Students

Current available data indicate that parent-child relationships may prevent or promote the development of psychiatric symptoms, mainly anxiety and depressive symptoms. The aim of our study was to explore the effect of emotional neglect and self-silencing on body mass index and on oral health behaviors in a sample of first year undergraduate medical students. Smoking behavior was correlated with self-silencing among males, while individual emotional neglect questions were correlated with body investment scales and oral health behaviors. The structural equation model demonstrated a good fit among female students but not among males. Further studies should further investigate the properties of this model in different populations.