Prospective associations between loneliness and disordered eating from early adolescence to adulthood

OBJECTIVE

Despite findings from numerous cross-sectional studies suggesting a substantial association between loneliness and different types of disordered eating, much remains unknown about the impact of confounding, the order of cause and effect, and gender differences in the relationship. Thus, this study followed a large, population-based, mixed-gender sample through adolescence and young adulthood, applying a random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) approach to examine the bidirectional prospective associations between loneliness and disordered eating while ruling out the effect of unmeasured time-invariant confounders.

METHOD

A Norwegian sample of N = 2933 adolescents (54.2% female) was examined across four time points (T1, M_age  = 15.44, grades 7-12; T2, M_age  = 16.93; T3, M_age  = 21.84; and T4, M_age  = 28.33) from 1992 to 2005 using RI-CLPMs for overall disordered eating and specific forms for disordered eating (dieting and bulimic symptoms). Multigroup structural equation models were used to assess gender differences.

RESULTS

For male participants, high levels of loneliness at T1 predicted more overall disordered eating and more dieting at T2. Meanwhile, among female participants, disordered eating and bulimic symptoms at T2 predicted more loneliness at T3, whereas loneliness at T3 predicted more disordered eating and bulimic symptoms at T4, and vice versa.

DISCUSSION

The findings suggest a pattern of bidirectional associations between loneliness and disordered eating that varies by time points, gender, and type of eating problem. Preventive interventions and treatment should consider social factors involved in the onset and maintenance of eating problems in male adolescents and young adult women.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

This study contributes to the existing knowledge by examining for the first time the dynamic nature of the association between loneliness and disordered eating while accounting for all time-invariant confounding. Our findings reveal a pattern of bidirectional associations between loneliness and disordered eating that appears to vary by developmental period, gender, and type of eating problem. Our findings suggest that social factors have to be taken into account when designing prevention strategies aimed at disordered eating.

The Stability and Change of Loneliness Across the Life Span: A Meta-Analysis of Longitudinal Studies

Individuals experience loneliness when they perceive a deficiency in the quality or quantity of their social relationships. In the present meta-analysis, we compiled data from 75 longitudinal studies conducted in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America (N = 83, 679) to examine the rank-order and mean-level development of loneliness across the life span. Data were analyzed using two- and three-level meta-analyses and generalized additive mixed models. The results indicate that the rank order of loneliness is as stable as the rank order of personality traits and follows an inverted U-shaped trajectory across the life span. Regarding mean-level development, loneliness was found to decrease throughout childhood and to remain essentially stable from adolescence to oldest old age. Thus, in contrast to other personality characteristics, changes in loneliness are not generally related to age. Implications for theory are discussed.

Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating symptoms in Finnish preadolescents

To evaluate whether body dissatisfaction is associated with disordered eating symptoms in Finnish preadolescents, and to assess the moderator effects of gender and body mass index on this association. We included 10,526 9- to 12-year-old preadolescents at baseline from the Finnish Health in Teens cohort. We used the Children's Eating Attitudes Test for assessing disordered eating symptoms and a pictoral instrument for evaluating body dissatisfaction, comparing self-assessment of wanted and current body shape. Odds ratio (OR) for disordered eating symptoms were estimated using unconditional logistic regression. A high percentage of preadolescents reported body dissatisfaction: 30.0% wanted a smaller body and 9.3% wanted a larger body. Only 2.2% of the participants had disordered eating symptoms. Preadolescents who wanted a larger (OR = 2.83; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.68-4.78) or smaller body (OR = 4.48; 95% CI: 3.20-6.26) had a higher risk of having disordered eating symptoms, compared to preadolescents satisfied with their body. Among preadolescents who wanted a smaller body, the effect of body dissatisfaction was more pronounced among girls (OR = 5.00; 95% CI: 3.25-7.70) than boys, and among normal-weight (OR = 6.82; 95% CI: 4.53-10.25) and underweight (OR = 23.23; 95% CI: 5.31-101.61) than overweight preadolescents. Body dissatisfaction is associated with disordered eating symptoms especially among girls, and those who are underweight and normal-weight. Our study suggests that, in the prevention of eating disorders, special attention should be given to preadolescents with body dissatisfaction.

The Role of Family of Origin in Current Lifestyle Choices: A Qualitative Secondary Data Analysis of Interracial and Same-Race Couples

Many Americans are in poor health. This is acute for racial/ethnic minorities compared with the Non-Hispanic white population. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze semistructured qualitative interviews to identify perceptions of family-of-origin lifestyle choices in same-race and interracial couples. Several central themes emerged from the data including influence of family-of-origin eating patterns, lack of family-of-origin importance for physical activity, and romantic partner influence in eating and exercise. Findings provide evidence for the socialization of family of origin on lifestyle choices into adulthood and also suggest promising changes due to romantic partner.

Eating behaviour disorders among adolescents in a middle school in Dongfanghong, China

BACKGROUND

Disordered eating behaviours (DEB) are significant public health challenges among adolescents. DEB are prevalent among Chinese young people and replication epidemiological studies in DEB are needed due to ongoing rapid modernization and socio-economic change. In addition, there has been no prevention or intervention programs for DEB in most of rural areas in China and research in DEB in rural China is limited. More research in DEB in rural China is needed for increased awareness of prevention strategies. The objectives of the study are to examine the prevalence and associated factors of DEB among rural Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

Four hundred and sixty-six students aged 11-18 years old from a middle school in rural China were invited to complete a self-reported questionnaire that included measures on DEB and psychosocial factors. The SCOFF questionnaire was applied to measure DEB (i.e., a score of > = 2 indicates a likely case of DEB). Logistic regression models were applied for data analyses. A p-value <0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.

RESULTS

There were 389 adolescents (11-18 years) included in this study with the prevalence of DEB being 28.8%. No significant differences were found between male adolescents (30.5%) and female adolescents (27.1%). Independently, perceived overweight (OR = 2.80, 95% CI = 1.05-7.48), negative affect (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.03-1.12), body dissatisfaction (OR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93-0.99), and watching TV (OR = 2.40, 95% CI = 1.11-5.18) were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with DEB.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates a high prevalence rate of DEB among rural adolescents and associated factors of DEB from a school-based sample. Such findings imply that local public health systems should pay more attention to DEB and design prevention and intervention strategies for DEB.

The relation between Bulimic symptoms and the social withdrawal syndrome during early adolescence

OBJECTIVE

The short-term longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that there was a prospective relation between the social withdrawal syndrome and Bulimic symptoms during early adolescence.

METHOD

Ninety-six adolescents (47 males, mean age=13 years - 10 months) completed standardized scales assessing Bulimic symptoms, trust beliefs in others and loneliness at Time 1/T1 and again 5 months later at Time 2/T2.

RESULTS

Analyses showed that: (1) Bulimic symptoms were negatively correlated with trust beliefs, (2) Bulimic symptoms were positively correlated with loneliness, and (3) trust beliefs were negatively correlated with loneliness. The SEM and mediation analyses showed that trust beliefs at T1 were negatively and concurrently associated with Bulimic symptoms at T1 and longitudinally (and negatively) predicted changes in Bulimic symptoms. It was found that loneliness at T1 statistically mediated those concurrent and longitudinal relations.

CONCLUSION

The findings yielded support for the conclusion that the social withdrawal syndrome, as assessed by low trust beliefs and resulting experiences of loneliness, contributes to Bulimia nervosa during early adolescence.

More than half of high school students report disordered eating: a cross sectional study among Norwegian boys and girls

Disordered eating and eating disorders are of great concern due to their associations with physical and mental health risks. Even if adolescence has been identified as the most vulnerable time for developing disordered eating, few studies have used a broad spectrum of criteria to investigate the prevalence of disordered eating among high school students of both genders, in different programs of study, nor assessed correlates of disordered eating among this important target group. The purposes of this study were therefore to investigate the prevalence and correlates of disordered eating among both male and female high school students in sport-, general and vocational programs. A comprehensive questionnaire was completed by 2,451 students (98.7%), aged 15–17 years. The total prevalence of disordered eating was 54.9%, with 64.3% among girls and 45.0% among boys (p<0.001). The highest prevalence of disordered eating was found among vocational students (60.7%), followed by students in general programs (49.8%) and sport students (38.3%) (p<0.001). Female gender, school program (vocational and general), overweight/obesity and weight regulation were positively associated with disordered eating. The high prevalence indicates the importance of tailored prevention efforts directed at high school students, particularly in vocational programs. Furthermore, a smaller girls–boys ratio than expected indicates that the efforts to identify and manage disordered eating among high school students should include both genders.