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Disordered eating patterns, body image, self‐esteem, and physical activity in preadolescent school children
Author(s) -
Sands Rob,
Tricker Julie,
Sherman Cheyne,
Armatas Christine,
Maschette Wayne
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199703)21:2<159::aid-eat6>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - dieting , psychology , eating disorders , bulimia nervosa , disordered eating , cronbach's alpha , longitudinal study , body mass index , anorexia nervosa , developmental psychology , scale (ratio) , human physical appearance , clinical psychology , psychometrics , medicine , obesity , weight loss , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics
Objective Eating disorders have been typically defined as an “adolescent problem.” As a result of emerging evidence which indicated this health problem to be evident in the prepubescent age range, this study aimed to establish prevalence and factors associated with eating/dieting, physical activity, and body image among a nonclinical, naturalistically‐derived sample of preadolescent (aged 10 and 11) school children (n = 61). Method: This cohort of children, which represented the entire grade 6 class of a suburban Elementary school, was measured for body image satisfaction [silhouettes], a participation in activity index, a self‐worth scale and a measure of eating attitudes & behavior [Eating and Me scale [E & M]]. Results: The longitudinal assessment of body image [3 measures over 9 months] indicated signs of stability of “actual” assessments of body image for males, but marked changes for females who preferred to be ideally “chunkier” in stature over time. Physical activity was only implicated with bulimia for the male sub‐group. The E & M scale reported a Cronbach's alpha of .76, with two factors [bulimia; drive for thinness/anorexia] representing 65% of the total variance. Moderate internal validity [r .58] between body dissatisfaction on the E & M scale and the silhouette measure was observed. Discussion: These results demonstrated that body image views and concerns appeared before puberty, that gender differences prevailed with respect to eating/dieting, activity and body image, and that the E & M scale has emerged as a promising research tool. The longitudinal nature of this study of eating disorders also promotes the need for qualitative research methodology and attention to pre‐pubertal cognitive/perceptual processes. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 21: 159–166, 1997.