Normative body dissatisfaction and eating psychopathology in teenage girls: the impact of inflexible eating rules

Abstract

Purpose: Adolescence has been considered a critical time for the development of body image-related difficulties and disordered eating behaviours, especially in females. Although adherence to eating rules has been linked to disordered eating, literature has not yet explored how the inflexible subscription to those rules impacts on eating psychopathology. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to explore whether inflexible eating impacts on the relationships between weight and body image-related variables, and disordered eating.Methods: Participated in this study 497 female adolescents from the community, aged between 14 and 18 years old, who completed self-report measures.Results: Results revealed that the majority of the participants were dissatisfied with their weight and body shape. Moreover, 6.64% of the participants demonstrated severe eating psychopathology. A path analysis revealed that BMI, body dissatisfaction and social comparisons based on physical appearance impact on disordered eating behaviours, through the mechanism of inflexible adherence to eating rules. This model explained 52% of eating psychopathology's variance. Conclusions:Findings highlight the relevance of body image-related difficulties in adolescence and additionally they emphasise the importance of promoting more flexible attitudes towards eating in prevention and intervention programs with female adolescents.

A controlled trial of a dissonance-based eating disorders prevention program with Brazilian girls

“…Participants in this study were concerned with their body image. Indeed, adolescent girls are considered as a high-risk group for body dissatisfaction and have demonstrated a normative body dissatisfaction (Duarte, Ferreira, Trindade, & Pinto-Gouveia, 2016;Littleton, 2008), which justify preventive efforts to reduce this outcome.…”

What makes dietary restraint problematic? Development and validation of the Inflexible Eating Questionnaire

“…Ferreira, Trindade and Martinho (2015) demonstrated that body image and weight dissatisfaction and unfavorable social comparisons significantly predicted women's levels of psychological inflexibility focused on eating, mediated by the mechanism of body image inflexibility. Duarte, Ferreira, Trindade, and Pinto-Gouveia (2015), in a sample of adolescent girls, found that psychological inflexibility focused on eating was a significant predictor of eating psychopathology. Moreover, preliminary evidence show that this scale presents good internal consistency and construct validity, being significantly associated with increased BMI, general psychopathology and eating psychopathology (Duarte, Ferreira, Trindade & Pinto-Gouveia, 2015).…”

“…Duarte, Ferreira, Trindade, and Pinto-Gouveia (2015), in a sample of adolescent girls, found that psychological inflexibility focused on eating was a significant predictor of eating psychopathology. Moreover, preliminary evidence show that this scale presents good internal consistency and construct validity, being significantly associated with increased BMI, general psychopathology and eating psychopathology (Duarte, Ferreira, Trindade & Pinto-Gouveia, 2015). Thus, this measure seems to be an important contribution for the assessment of forms of psychological inflexibility relevant for the study of eating behaviours.…”

A influência da insatisfação corporal e do comportamento alimentar inadequado no desenvolvimento dos transtornos alimentares

“…15 O estudo de Vale, Kerr e Bosi ,22 efetuado com um questionário desenvolvido pelos próprios pesquisadores e aplicado em meninas de 14 a 20 anos de idade, mostrou que 50,5% gostariam de ter um IMC que as classificassem como abaixo do normal e, 23,1% das que estavam com o IMC normal, se consideravam gordas ou muito gordas e apresentavam mais práticas de risco para TA, indicando que apenas o fato de se sentir acima do peso influencia no desenvolvimento dos TA. 22 Além disso, o IMC referido foi maior que o desejado em 44,5% da amostra, apontando o desejo de emagrecer. Também foi encontrado que o medo de engordar está presente na maioria das meninas, independentemente da classificação do IMC.…”