Life stress, psychological symptoms and weight reducing behavior in adolescent girls: A prospective analysis

✍ Scribed by Rosen, James C. ;Tacy, Barbara ;Howell, David

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 664 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0276-3478
• DOI: 10.1002/1098-108x(199001)9:1<17::aid-eat2260090103>3.0.co;2-f

✦ Synopsis

Daily and major life stress, psychological symptoms, and dieting were measured in 143 adolescent girls ages 14-18 at the beginning and end of a 4-month prospective study. Two hypothetical relations among the variables were examined; (I) that weight reducing in adolescents is predicted by stress and psychological symptoms prospectively, versus (2) that stress and psychological symptoms are a consequence of increased weight-reducing efforts. Stress and symptoms were related to weight reducing in cross-sectional correlations. Multiple regressions and LlSREL analyses showed that future levels of psychological stress, but not symptoms, were predicted by weight-reducing behavior when baseline scores were controlled. The hypothesis that negative psychological functioning predicts more dieting in the future was not supported. Besides potential physical health hazards of weight reducing during adolescence and its apparent status as a risk factor for eating disorders, this indicates that weight reducing also may have some negative psychological impact on the young dieter.