Symptoms of depression (not anxiety) mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in men

Objective: Childhood sexual abuse is associated with compulsive sexual behavior, depression, and anxiety in men. Furthermore, both depression and anxiety have been linked to compulsive sexual behaviors. However, whether anxiety and depression mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors has yet to be tested. We investigated whether symptoms of depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in 222 men seeking treatment for such behaviors. Methods: Participants completed the Sexual Compulsivity Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. A cross-sectional parallel mediation analysis was conducted. Results: The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in our sample was 57%. Significant correlations were found between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors, depression, and anxiety. The results of the mediation analyses suggested that depression (B = 0.07, standard error [SE] = 0.03, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.15), but not anxiety (B = 0.02, SE = 0.02, 95%CI -0.2 to 0.07), mediated the link between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors. The pattern of our results remained the same when controlling for other types of childhood trauma. Conclusions: Depression, not anxiety, appears to mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in men. Future research that tests our mediation analyses using a prospective longitudinal study would be highly informative.

Symptoms of depression (not anxiety) mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in men.

OBJECTIVE: Childhood sexual abuse is associated with compulsive sexual behavior, depression, and anxiety in men. Furthermore, both depression and anxiety have been linked to compulsive sexual behaviors. However, whether anxiety and depression mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors has yet to be tested. We investigated whether symptoms of depression and anxiety mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in 222 men seeking treatment for such behaviors. METHODS: Participants completed the Sexual Compulsivity Scale, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. A cross-sectional parallel mediation analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in our sample was 57%. Significant correlations were found between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors, depression, and anxiety. The results of the mediation analyses suggested that depression (B = 0.07, standard error [SE] = 0.03, 95%CI 0.02 to 0.15), but not anxiety (B = 0.02, SE = 0.02, 95%CI -0.2 to 0.07), mediated the link between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors. The pattern of our results remained the same when controlling for other types of childhood trauma. CONCLUSIONS: Depression, not anxiety, appears to mediate the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and compulsive sexual behaviors in men. Future research that tests our mediation analyses using a prospective longitudinal study would be highly informative.

The long-term impact of an eating disorder prevention program for professional ballet school students: A 15-year follow-up study.

Eating disorder prevention programs have been assessed up to 3 years post-implementation; however, their impact on long-term resilience is unclear. The current study assessed disordered eating and body dissatisfaction in 116 dancers from a professional ballet school 15 or more years following their participation in an effective selective prevention program. Dancers who attended the ballet school during and following the program endorsed fewer thoughts and behaviours associated with bulimia, had lower lifetime prevalence of laxative use, and showed a trend toward lower lifetime rates of vomiting to control weight than those who attended the ballet school prior to the intervention.

Rapid response to intensive treatment for bulimia nervosa and purging disorder: A randomized controlled trial of a CBT intervention to facilitate early behavior change.

OBJECTIVE: Rapid response to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for eating disorders (i.e., rapid and substantial change to key eating disorder behaviors in the initial weeks of treatment) robustly predicts good outcome at end-of-treatment and in follow up. The objective of this study was to determine whether rapid response to day hospital (DH) eating disorder treatment could be facilitated using a brief adjunctive CBT intervention focused on early change. METHOD: 44 women (average age 27.3 [8.4]; 75% White, 6.3% Black, 6.9% Asian) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 4-session adjunctive interventions: CBT focused on early change, or motivational interviewing (MI). DH was administered as usual. Outcomes included binge/purge frequency, Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Intent-to-treat analyses were used. RESULTS: The CBT group had a higher rate of rapid response (95.7%) compared to MI (71.4%; p = .04, V = .33). Those who received CBT also had fewer binge/purge episodes (p = .02) in the first 4 weeks of DH. By end-of-DH, CBT participants made greater improvements on overvaluation of weight and shape (p = .008), and emotion regulation (ps < .008). Across conditions, there were no significant baseline differences between rapid and nonrapid responders (ps > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that rapid response can be clinically facilitated using a CBT intervention that explicitly encourages early change. This provides the foundation for future research investigating whether enhancing rates of rapid response using such an intervention results in improved longer term outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Eating disorder prevention initiatives for athletes: A review.

A substantial amount of evidence suggests that collegiate and elite athletes involved in weight-sensitive sports are at greater risk of developing eating disorders (EDs) than the general population. With the limited effectiveness of treatment for EDs, prevention of EDs has been broadly considered in the literature. The present paper reviewed the existing literature on ED prevention programmes for athletes in order to determine the current status of prevention programmes and recommend future directions. The available literature suggests that selective, primary interventions with multiple targets and an interactive multimodal approach appear most effective. Current challenges in the field, including lack of longitudinal research, hesitation by the sport community to be involved in ED research and poor cross-field communication and collaboration, are also explored. The lack of dissemination of evidence-based prevention programmes and the simultaneous promotion of prevention programmes that have not yet been empirically examined are also discussed. Based on these observations future directions are recommended.

The Family Fat Talk Questionnaire: development and psychometric properties of a measure of fat talk behaviors within the family context.

Fat talk has been well studied in female peer groups, and evidence suggests it may also be important in family contexts. However, no instrument exists to validly assess fat talk within the family. The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of fat talk within families and to establish its psychometric properties in young adult women. In Study 1, the Family Fat Talk Questionnaire (FFTQ) was developed and exploratory factor analysis suggested a 2-factor structure ("Self" and "Family" fat talk), and strong internal consistency. Study 2 confirmed its 2-factor structure using confirmatory factor analysis. Study 3 demonstrated the construct validity of FFTQ scores, including significant correlations with related constructs and predictable gender differences. Study 4 demonstrated the stability of FFTQ scores over two weeks. Therefore, the FFTQ produces valid and reliable scores of fat talk behaviors both exhibited and observed by young adult women within the family context.

Development and validation of the Fat Talk Questionnaire.

Fat talk refers to negative body-related conversations between girls or young women. This research aimed to use qualitative data from young women to guide development of a quantitative fat talk measure. In Study 1, a preliminary 62-item questionnaire was developed and administered to 200 female participants. Item analysis resulted in the elimination of items, yielding a final questionnaire with 14 items. Principal components analysis of this questionnaire indicated a single factor. In Study 2, 95 female participants completed the newly developed Fat Talk Questionnaire and theoretically related (e.g., body image) and unrelated (e.g., social desirability) constructs. Additionally, 49 male participants completed the questionnaire to examine known groups validity. In Study 3, 54 participants completed the Fat Talk Questionnaire on two occasions to assess temporal stability. The results showed that the Fat Talk Questionnaire is reliable and valid. The Fat Talk Questionnaire may have important utility in future research.

Monitoring of weight in weight loss programs: a double-edged sword?

Body size feedback is commonly provided to clients in weight loss programs. The attention focused on one's current, and presumably undesirable, body size can be motivating for those who want to modify a pattern of unhealthful behaviors. For others, this feedback may result in psychological distress and could lead to outcomes that are, in fact, counter to a weight loss strategy, such as attrition from programs, misreporting of dietary intake, and emotional states associated with binge eating. Dietitians and weight loss professionals should provide weight feedback judiciously, especially to vulnerable clients, and perhaps soften the emphasis on body size altogether.

Body image variability: the influence of body-composition information and neuroticism on young women's body dissatisfaction.

The current studies consider the effect of body size, body composition feedback, and the moderating influence of neuroticism (N) on three measures of body dissatisfaction (BD) in young women. In Study One, normal-sized subjects who were given false feedback indicating that they were either fatter or leaner than average showed heightened BD compared to groups who received either accurate or no feedback about body size. There was no evidence of a moderating effect of N. In Study Two, thinner-than-average subjects who received accurate body-size feedback showed greater satisfaction than a control group receiving no information. For heavier than average subjects, feedback only increased BD for those low on N. Although these results show mixed support for N as a moderator, they are the first to show an effect of body composition information on BD.