ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our purpose with this work was to examine the relationship between negative comments about weight, shape, and eating and social adjustment, social support, self-esteem, and perceived childhood abuse and neglect. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted with 455 college women with high weight and shape concerns, who participated in an Internet-based eating disorder prevention program. Baseline assessments included: perceived family negative comments about weight, shape, and eating; social adjustment; social support; self-esteem; and childhood abuse and neglect. Participants identified 1 of 7 figures representing their maximum body size before age 18 and parental maximum body size. RESULTS: More than 80% of the sample reported some parental or sibling negative comments about their weight and shape or eating. Parental and sibling negative comments were positively associated with maximum childhood body size, larger reported paternal body size, and minority status. On subscales of emotional abuse and neglect, most participants scored above the median, and nearly one third scored above the 90th percentile. In a multivariate analysis, greater parental negative comments were directly related to higher reported emotional abuse and neglect. Maximum body size was also related to emotional neglect. Parental negative comments were associated with lower reported social support by family and lower self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: In college women with high weight and shape concerns, retrospective reports of negative comments about weight, shape, and eating were associated with higher scores on subscales of emotional abuse and neglect. This study provides additional evidence that family criticism results in long-lasting, negative effects.
Subject(s)
Body Image , Body Size , Body Weight , Expressed Emotion , Feeding and Eating Disorders/psychology , Parent-Child Relations , Sibling Relations , Women/psychology , Adult , Child , Child Abuse/psychology , Family Relations , Feeding Behavior , Feeding and Eating Disorders/epidemiology , Feeding and Eating Disorders/etiology , Female , Humans , Obesity/psychology , Parents/psychology , Risk , Self Concept , Siblings/psychology , Social Adjustment , Social Support , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The current study examines diet aid use among college women at risk for eating disorders and explores characteristics associated with diet aid use. METHOD: Participants were 484 college women<30 years from 6 universities in the San Francisco Bay Area (SF) and San Diego who were at risk for developing eating disorders. A checklist assessed diet pill, fat blocker, diuretic, laxative, and other diet aid use over the past 12 months. RESULTS: Thirty-two percent of the college women reported using a diet aid. Diet aid use was double the rate in San Diego (44%) compared with SF (22%) (p=.000). Weight and shape concerns were higher among diet aid users than among nonusers across sites. CONCLUSION: A significant number of college women at risk for eating disorders are using diet aids. We recommend that clinicians inquire about diet aid use among college-aged patients.
