The present study aimed to understand how various factors at the individual (satisfaction of basic psychological needs), relational (parenting), and cultural (ethnic identity) levels may contribute to Asian American emerging adults’ (18 - 25 years of age) introjected regulation of eating, a regulatory style of eating in which individuals’ shame/guilt related to the amount of food they eat or their body weight/shape motivate their regulation of eating. This regulatory style is characteristic of eating disorders. This study examined whether satisfaction of psychological needs mediated the relation between perceived parental psychological control and introjected regulation of eating, and whether Asian American emerging adults’ ethnic identity moderated the association between parental control and psychological needs satisfaction. Asian American emerging adults (N = 127) completed a cross-sectional survey study. Psychological needs satisfaction mediated the positive relation between parental psychological control and introjected regulation of eating. Asian American emerging adults with higher ethnic identity had stronger relations between perceived achievement-oriented, but not dependency-oriented, parental psychological control and psychological needs satisfaction. Results of this study highlighted the importance of parenting and ethnic identity in Asian American emerging adults’ particularly risk and resilience for disordered eating. These results will help refine current models of eating disorders for Asian Americans and inform the development of culturally-sensitive intervention and prevention programs attending to the needs of Asian American emerging adults.
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