An ethnographic analysis of the family dynamics of the obese adolescent

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent obesity as it interacted with and was perceived by the family system. The study was an ethnographic analysis whose goals were to understand the meaning obesity had for the family and how the dynamics of the family interacted with the obesity. The respondents in the study were five female adolescents and their nuclear families. They participated in an interview process which included ethnographic and circular questioning, nutritional and diet histories, and Faces II. The results were analyzed in accordance with ethnographic methodology. A number of findings emerged from the study. Among these were the presence of a family obesity system, three distinct stages of obesity development within the family and the existence of a dysfunctional obesogenic family system which negatively influenced the obese adolescent. Suggestions for further study included empirical research into the findings of this study and the development of an instrument that would empirically measure the dynamics of child and adolescent obesity.