Eating disorders, and related issues (e.g., body dissatisfaction, weight control behaviors), represent pressing and prevalent health problems that affect American adolescents with alarming frequency and potentially chronic consequences. However, more longitudinal research is needed to elucidate the developmental processes that increase or maintain…

Eating problems are highly prevalent and seem to show continuity in children. Nevertheless, the effect of different maternal and paternal feeding practices on changes in these problems is not fully understood yet. This study examines short-term continuity in primary school children's overeating, loss of control (over eating), restraint and…

Weight-based victimization is a frequent experience for adolescents, but little is known about their emotional reactions and coping strategies in response to weight-based teasing and bullying. The present study examined the ways that adolescents cope with experiences of weight-based victimization at school. An initial sample of 1,555 students from…

Assessing self-harm through brief multiple choice items is simple and less invasive than more detailed methods of assessment. However, there is currently little validation for brief methods of self-harm assessment. This study evaluates the extent to which adolescents' perceptions of self-harm agree with definitions in the literature, and what…

Disordered eating behaviors and substance use are two risk factors for the development of serious psychopathology and health concerns in adulthood. Despite the negative outcomes associated with these risky behaviors, few studies have examined potential associations between these risk factors as they occur during adolescence. The importance of…

Much of the prior work on General Strain Theory (GST) has focused on how strain and negative emotions interrelate to produce criminal--especially violent--activity. Very little research has extended GST to examine other types of non-criminal, negative behavior, such as self-harming behaviors associated with disordered eating, a traditionally…

The interplay between intrapersonal risk (low self-esteem, perfectionism and body dissatisfaction) and interpersonal protection (social support) appears relevant for delineating gender-specific pathways that lead to both depressive and eating psychopathology. The aims of this longitudinal study were to examine gender differences in the levels of…

Body image dissatisfaction is a significant risk factor in the onset of eating pathology and depression. Therefore, understanding predictors of negative body image is an important focus of investigation. This research sought to examine the contributions of body mass, appearance conversations with friends, peer appearance criticism and…

Shape and weight concerns among overweight pre-adolescents heighten risk for eating disorders and weight gain. Treatment and prevention efforts require consideration of psychosocial factors that co-occur with these concerns. This study involved 200 overweight pre-adolescents, aged 7-12 years (M age = 9.8; SD = 1.4), presenting for family-based…

This study aimed to explore the role of depression as a moderator of sociocultural influences on eating disorder symptoms. A sample of 509 adolescents (56% female) completed self-report questionnaires assessing depression, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, bulimic symptoms and sociocultural influences on appearance from family, peers and…

The current study explored how body dissatisfaction and challenges associated with the transition to university predicted symptoms of binge eating. Participants were 101 female full-time first-year university students (M=18.3 years of age; SD=0.50) who completed a background questionnaire and a web-based daily checklist assessing binge eating.…

Internalization of the thin body ideal is considered by many to account for the relationship between media exposure and disordered eating among girls and young women, but almost all supporting research has employed adolescent and adult samples. Using longitudinal panel survey data collected from 257 preadolescent girls at 2 points in time 1 year…

Examined eating attitudes among 39 female college athletes from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I schools, 40 from NCAA Division II schools, and 31 nonathletes. Athletes at higher levels of competition showed more signs of pathological eating and were at increased risk of eating disorders. (SLD)

Studied personality, temperament, and behavioral factors as predictors of the development of eating disorders in 726 girls and 698 boys in junior high school when the 3-to-4-year study began. Discusses negative affect/attitudes as a generalized psychopathology vulnerability factor for disordered eating. (SLD)

The connections between body image disturbance and psychological functioning have been well established in samples of older adolescent girls and young women. Little is known, however, about body image in younger children. In particular, little is known about possible gender differences in preadolescent children. The current study explored…