Lack of causal relationship between depressive symptoms and eating abnormalities in a nonclinical population: Findings from a six-month follow-up study
✍ Scribed by Leung, Freedom ;Steiger, Howard
- Publisher
- Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
- Year
- 1991
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 535 KB
- Volume
- 10
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0276-3478
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✦ Synopsis
Three alternative causal hypotheses have been proposed concerning the relationship between mood and eating disturbances:
(1) mood disturbances in eating disorders are consequences of eating abnormalities; (2) eating ahnormdlities are consequences of underlying mood disturbances; 13) mood dnd eating disturbances are not causally related but are both effects of 5ome other set oi common causes or "third variables." The present study used a cross-lagged panel design to examine these competing causal hypotheses concerning mood and eating symptoms in a nonclinical population. High-school girls, 543, ranging in age from 13 to 17, were tested twice (across a &month interval) for depressive 5ymptoms and eating abnormalities. Autocorrelations indicated that mood and eating disturbances were quite stable over the 6-month period (.77 for mood and .72 for eating). Synchronous correlations revealed a moderate but stable association between mood dnd eating disturbances 1.41 for Time I and .42 tor Time 21. Comparison of cross-lagged correlations from mood to eating pathology j.34) and from eating to mood disturbances 1.351, however, indicated no predominant causal sequence between these [ w o variables. lmplications of these findings were discussed.
Clinicians and researchers have, over past years, been intrigued by the frequent assoication between mood disturbances and eating abnormalities in eat-Freedom Leung, M.A. IS a doctoVal candidate in Psychology at Concordid Univrrsity, and ' 1 Kesedrrh Project Coordinator at the Eating Disorders Program (EDP), Douglas tiospihl Centre. Howard Steiger, Ph.D. i s Psychologist, Chief-of-Service at the EDP. Addrec ( orrtlspor~dettt c 2nd reprint request to first