Dietary Restraint, Body Dissatisfaction, and Psychological Distress: A Prospective Analysis.

This study uses prospective data from a survey of 1,177 adolescent girls to examine whether emotional eating, binge eating, abnormal attitudes to eating and weight, low self-esteem, stress, and depression are associated with dietary restraint or body dissatisfaction. In analyses that included both restraint and body dissatisfaction as independent predictors, restraint was associated only with more negative attitudes to eating, whereas body dissatisfaction was significantly associated with all the adverse outcomes. These results cast doubt on the proposition that restrained eating is a primary cause of bulimic symptoms, emotional eating, and psychological distress seen in individuals who are trying to control their weight, and rather suggest that body dissatisfaction is the key factor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial and health consequences of adolescent depression in Black and White young adult women.

Depression in adolescent girls may result in negative consequences in young adulthood. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was administered to 1,727 Black and White girls ages 16 to 18 years who participated in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Growth and Health Study. Three years later, women in the depressed groups were more likely to be current smokers, had attained a lower level of education, and reported lower self-worth relative to the nondepressed group. Body dissatisfaction, eating concerns, and loneliness were greater in the depressed groups. Relative to Black women, White women who were moderately depressed during adolescence reported more health care services utilization in young adulthood. Prevention efforts for depressed adolescents should be broadly focused to improve young adult outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Externalized self-perceptions, self-silencing, and the prediction of eating pathology.

Gender role socialization models posit that the greater prevalence of problematic eating patterns in girls and women is partly due to a socialization process whereby women are taught to view themselves in relation to others, to avoid confrontation, and to conform to societal ideals regarding thinness. This study explored the relationship of these factors to eating pathology. 236 undergraduate women (aged 18-24 years) completed measures related to body image (body dissatisfaction, weight status, perceived importance of shape and weight), relational variables shaped by differential gender role socialization (externalized self-perceptions, self-silencing behaviors and attitudes), and disturbed eating cognitions and behaviors. Perceived importance of shape and weight and externalized self-perceptions were found to predict maladaptive eating-related cognitions, and self-silencing predicted bulimic behaviors when body-related variables were controlled. Thus, it appears that externalized self-perceptions and self-silencing are indeed related to eating disturbances, although further research is needed to demonstrate a causal role for these variables in the development of eating disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smoking expectancies as mediators between dietary restraint and disinhibition and smoking in college women.

Women's beliefs about the appetite and weight control properties of cigarette smoking, dietary restraint and disinhibition, and smoking status were examined. As hypothesized, dietary restraint and disinhibition predicted appetite and weight control expectancies and smoking rate, such that women higher in dietary restraint and disinhibition reported stronger beliefs in the appetite and weight control properties of cigarettes and were more likely to be smoking than those lower in dietary restraint and disinhibition. Consistent with previous research, smoking expectancies for appetite and weight control predicted smoking status and smoking rate. Smoking expectancies for appetite and weight control were found to mediate the relationship between dietary restraint and smoking, and between disinhibition and smoking. This relationship between smoking and dietary constructs should be considered in smoking cessation and dietary interventions with young women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What Type of Support Do They Need? Investigating Student Adjustment as Related to Emotional, Informational, Appraisal, and Instrumental Support.

The present study asked: What types of support (emotional, informational, appraisal, and instrumental) do students perceive from the sources of support (parents, teachers, classmates, and close friends)? and Are types of social support more related to students' social, behavioral, and academic outcomes? Gender differences in perceptions of support were also investigated. Data were collected from 263 5th-8th graders using the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale, the Social Skills Rating System, and the Behavior Assessment System for Children. Although early adolescent boys and girls perceive similar levels of all types of support from their parents and teachers, girls perceive more support of most types from classmates and friends. Emotional and informational support were the most highly reported type of support from parents, informational support was most highly reported from teachers, and emotional and instrumental support scores were highest from classmates and close friends. Supportive behaviors from parents contributed to students' adjustment. Emotional support perceived from teachers was a significant and sole individual predictor of students' social skills and academic competence. Supportive behaviors from teachers also predicted students' school maladjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral manifestations of social support: A microanalytic investigation.

Examined the specific interpersonal behaviors that convey support from one person to another, the types of interpersonal experiences that characterize individuals who report high vs low levels of social support, and the effectiveness of a range of helping behaviors in preventing depressive reactions to stressful events. 41 undergraduates completed a general measure of perceived social support and kept daily records of their social interactions and stressful experiences for 14 days. They also completed the Depression Adjective Check Lists each day. Results show that behaviors reflecting emotional support and informational support occurred as a specific response to stressful life events. Although esteem support was expressed with equal frequency in the presence and absence of stress, it was especially effective in preventing depressive reactions to stressful events. Ss who perceived themselves as having high levels of social support were more frequently the recipients of helping behaviors following stressful events than those low in perceived support. Perceived social support was only predictive of helping behaviors on days on which at least 1 stressful event occurred. The total number of helping behaviors received following stressful events was a significant negative predictor of level of depressive mood, although 1 helping behavior (frequency of confiding) was associated with higher levels of depression. Results are interpreted in terms of the buffering model of social support. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Friendship clique and peer influences on body image concerns, dietary restraint, extreme weight-loss behaviors, and binge eating in adolescent girls.

This study explored friendship variables in relation to body image, dietary restraint, extreme weight-loss behaviors (EWLBs), and binge eating in adolescent girls. From 523 girls, 79 friendship cliques were identified using social network analysis. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed body image concerns, eating, friendship relations, and psychological, family, and media variables. Similarity was greater for within than for between friendship cliques for body image concerns, dietary restraint, and EWLBs, but not for binge eating. Cliques high in body image concerns and dieting manifested these concerns in ways consistent with a high weight/shape-preoccupied subculture. Friendship attitudes contributed significantly to the prediction of individual body image concern and eating behaviors. Use of EWLBs by friends predicted an individual's own level of use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological and Behavioral Risk Factors for Obesity Onset in Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study.

Because little is known about risk factors for obesity, the authors tested whether certain psychological and behavioral variables predicted future onset of obesity. The authors used data from a prospective study of 496 adolescent girls who completed a baseline assessment at age 11-15 years and 4 annual follow-ups. Self-reported dietary restraint, radical weight-control behaviors, depressive symptoms, and perceived parental obesity--but not high-fat food consumption, binge eating, or exercise frequency-predicted obesity onset. Results provide support for certain etiologic theories of obesity, including the affect regulation model. The fact that self-reported, weight-control behaviors identified girls at risk for obesity implies that high-risk youths are not engaging in effective weight-control methods and suggests the need to promote more effective strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of dietary restraint, obesity, and gender on holiday eating behavior and weight gain.

This investigation evaluated the impact of dietary restraint, relative weight, and gender on holiday eating behavior and weight gain. 65 Ss (31 men and 34 women) completed detailed food records for the 2 days before, the 4 days during, and the 2 days after the Thanksgiving weekend. Results indicated increased eating during the Thanksgiving holiday, with men eating more than women and the obese eating less than the nonobese. There was also a significant Total Restraint?×?Weight?×?Time interaction, with unrestrained normal-weight subjects behaving similarly to high-restrained overweight subjects over time. There was also a highly reliable Total Restraint?×?Sex?×?Time interaction. The most striking finding from this interaction was that high-restrained women displayed decreases in their dietary intake over time. Correlational analyses revealed that restraint scores were negatively associated with dietary intake over the 8-day period but were positively associated with weight gain. The implications for dieting, eating behavior, and energy balance are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control, coping behaviors, and performance in a stress setting: a longitudinal study

Examined the relationship between managerial locus of control (Rotter's Internal–External Control Scale), perceived stress (Subjective Stress Scale), coping behaviors (task- vs emotion-centered as defined in the R. L. Kahn et al 1964 typology), and performance (credit ratings). 90 small business owner-managers participated in 2 data collection phases over a 2?-yr interval following the effects of a major disaster. Internals were found to perceive less stress, employ more task-centered coping behaviors, and employ fewer emotion-centered coping behaviors than externals. Successful internals became more internal, whereas unsuccessful externals became more external over the 2?-yr interval. Changes in performance were related to changes in locus of control. The nature of locus of control as a possible cause of task behavior and as an effect of environmental experience is examined. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived social support, social skills, and quality of relationships in bulimic women.

The impaired relationship between bulimics and their environment may be an important factor in the onset and perpetuation of bulimia. This study explored specific aspects of the bulimic's social network and interpersonal relationships as well as individual difference variables that might mediate her ability to support or perceive this as adequate. Ss were 21 bulimic women and 21 control Ss who completed self-report measures assessing perceived social support, the quality of relationships, social skills, and psychopathology. Bulimics reported less perceived support from friends and family, more negative interactions and conflict, and less social competence. Differences in negative interactions remained significant after controlling for overall psychopathology, and level of conflict was an important predictor of group membership. In addition, bulimics were rated as less socially effective by observers unaware of their group membership. Results highlight the need for further investigation of the quality and type of interactions in bulimic women's lives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are body dissatisfaction, eating disturbance, and body mass index predictors of suicidal behavior in adolescents? A longitudinal study.

Disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, and obesity have been associated cross sectionally with suicidal behavior in adolescents. To determine the extent to which these variables predicted suicidal ideation and attempts, the authors examined these relationships in a longitudinal design. The study population included 2,516 older adolescents and young adults who completed surveys for Project EAT-II (Time 2), a 5-year follow-up study of adolescents who had taken part in Project EAT (Time 1). Odds ratios for suicidal behaviors at Time 2 were estimated with multiple logistic regression. Predictor variables included Time 1 extreme and unhealthy weight control behaviors (EWCB and UWCB), body dissatisfaction, and body mass index percentile. Suicidal ideation was reported by 15.2% of young men and 21.6% of young women, and suicide attempts were reported by 3.5% of young men and 8.7% of young women. For young women, suicidal ideation at Time 2 was predicted by Time 1 EWCB. The odds ratio for suicide attempts was similarly elevated in young women who had reported EWCB at Time 1. These odds ratios for both suicidal ideation and suicide attempts remained elevated even after controlling for Time 2 depressive symptoms. In young men, EWCB was not associated with suicidal ideation or suicide attempts 5 years later. Body mass index and body dissatisfaction did not predict suicidal ideation or suicide attempts in young men or young women. These results emphasize the importance of EWCB. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Disordered eating, weight dissatisfaction and dieting in relation to unwanted childhood sexual experiences in a community sample

A study was conducted to examine the relationships among eating pathology, weight dissatisfaction and dieting, and unwanted sexual experiences in childhood. An unselected community sample of 201 young and 268 middle-aged women were administered questionnaires assessing eating behaviors and attitudes, and past and current sexual abuse. Results showed differential relationships among these factors for the two age cohorts: for young women, past sexual abuse predicted weight dissatisfaction, but not dieting or disordered eating behaviors, whereas for middle-aged women, past abuse was predictive of disordered eating, but not dieting or weight dissatisfaction. Current physical or sexual abuse was also found to be predictive of disordered eating for the young women. These findings underscore the complexity of the relationships among unwanted sexual experiences and eating and weight pathology, and suggest that the timing of sexual abuse, and the age of the woman, are important mediating factors.     

Interactive effects of menarcheal status and dating on dieting and disordered eating among adolescent girls.

The effects of menarcheal status and opposite-sex socializing (mixed-sex social activity, dating, and noncoital sexual involvement with boyfriends) on dieting and disordered eating among early adolescent girls are examined. In all, 89 12- and 13-year-old girls reported their menarcheal status, dieting behaviors and attitudes, and involvement in dating and other heterosocial activities. Girls who are more involved in mixed-sex social activities are more likely to exhibit disordered eating tendencies, and this effect is stronger among girls who have experienced menarche. Also, girls who are dating and are more physically involved with boyfriends are more likely to report dieting and disordered eating than are their peers. An interaction between dating and menarcheal status was observed in the prediction of dieting and disordered eating, with dating more strongly linked to dieting and disordered eating among girls who have recently experienced menarche. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict in close relationships: An attachment perspective.

This study investigated how perceptions of current dating partners and relationships change after people with different attachment orientations attempt to resolve a problem in their relationship. Dating couples were videotaped while they tried to resolve either a major or a minor problem. Confirming predictions from attachment theory, men and women who had a more ambivalent orientation perceived their partner and relationship in relatively less positive terms after discussing a major problem. Observer ratings revealed that more ambivalent women who tried to resolve a major problem displayed particularly strong stress and anxiety and engaged in more negative behaviors. Conversely, men with a more avoidant orientation were rated as less warm and supportive, especially if they discussed a major problem. These results are discussed in terms of how highly ambivalent and highly avoidant people differentially perceive and respond to distressing events. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thinness and eating expectancies predict subsequent binge-eating and purging behavior among adolescent girls.

One's expectancies for reinforcement from eating or from thinness are thought to represent summaries of one's eating-related learning history and to thus influence the development of binge-eating and purging behavior. In a 3-year longitudinal study, the authors tested this hypothesis and the hypothesis that binge eating also influences subsequent expectancy development. The authors used trajectory analysis to identify groups of middle school girls who followed different trajectories of binge eating, purging, eating expectancies, and thinness expectancies. Initial eating and thinness reinforcement expectancies identified girls whose binge eating and purging increased during middle school, and expectancies differentiated girls who began these problem behaviors from girls who did not. Initial binge-eating scores differentiated among eating expectancy developmental trajectories. The onset of most behaviors can be understood in terms of learned expectancies for reinforcement from these behaviors. The same model can be applied to the risk for eating disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between psychological stress and insulin-dependent diabetic blood glucose control: Preliminary investigations.

Evaluated the effect of stress on blood glucose levels in 59 insulin-dependent diabetics (aged 18–78 yrs). In Exp I, there was a significant positive correlation between a hassles scale and hemoglobin A? levels (an index of blood glucose fluctuation). Social supports, Type A behavior, and reported therapeutic compliance neither correlated with hemoglobin A? nor influenced the hassles–hemoglobin A? relationship. In Exp II, 123 Ss generally perceived stress as a potent factor in blood glucose control. However, results suggest that different stressors may have differential effects for different diabetic patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are job characteristics related to fibrinogen levels in middle-aged women?

This study examined whether employment status or job characteristics thought to be stressful were related to fibrinogen level in a sample of 161 healthy middle-aged women. Employed women had higher fibrinogen levels than did nonemployed women. Moreover, among employed women, those who perceived high levels of job stress or low support from their bosses had elevated fibrinogen, independent of menopausal status. Perception of low support from one's boss was related to higher fibrinogen levels only among premenopausal women or postmenopausal women who were not using hormone replacement therapy. These results are consistent with the notion that stress associated with some job characteristics influences levels of fibrinogen in women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Studying intergenerational transmission of eating attitudes and behaviors: Methodological and conceptual questions.

Associations between parent and child attitudes and behaviors related to eating and weight were examined among college-age men and women and their mothers and fathers (ns?=?44, 47, 87, and 66, respectively). Parent attitudes and behaviors were assessed from the perspective of the parent and the student, and 2 pathways of influence were examined: modeling and direct criticism. In general, students' attitudes and behaviors were more strongly related to perceptions of their parents rather than to parents' own self-reports. There was more support for perceived direct criticism as a pathway of influence, particularly for daughters. Perceived criticism about eating and appearance had large associations with student attitudes and behaviors. Weight loss behavior was related to perceived criticism among daughters and to perceived paternal eating attitudes among sons. Results highlight important methodological and conceptual questions for intergenerational research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)