Risky dieting amongst adolescent girls: Associations with family relationship problems and depressed mood
Introduction
Preoccupations with weight and weight control are prevalent amongst adolescent girls (Lawrence & Thelen, 1995), and dieting may carry heightened health risks regardless of overweightness (Crow, Eisenberg, Story, & Neumark-Sztainer, 2006). When dieting pre-occupations become excessive, there are increased risks of psychological distress, nutritional deficiencies, and subsequent eating disorders (Patton, Selzer, Coffey, Carlin, & Wolfe, 1999). In Australia, available data indicate that amongst 12–17 year olds, approximately 39% of girls compared to 13% of boys are classified as intermediate or extreme dieters (Patton et al., 1997).
In this study we examined the association of depressed mood and family relationship problems with dieting in a large population of early adolescent girls (11–14 years of age). While some research indicates simple associations between dieting and depressed mood, family problems, and early pubertal onset, research is needed on the extent to which these factors predict dieting independent of each other. This is important because contextual factors are likely to be interrelated, and the identification of significant independent contextual factors should inform prevention policies and programs. The first hypothesis was that depressed mood and family relationship quality would be associated with dieting. Drawing on research showing that depressed mood mediates linkages between family distress and other adolescent health risk behaviours (Chan, Kelly, & Toumbourou, 2013), the second hypothesis was that depressed mood would mediate any family relationship–dieting association.
Section snippets
Sample
The sample consisted of 4058 girls in Grade 6 (modal age 11 years) and Grade 8 (modal age 13) from 231 schools located in 31 Australian communities (Victoria/Queensland/Western Australia).
Survey procedure
Data was collected via a two-stage sampling strategy (community and school). The community sampling frame consisted of Statistical Local Areas (ABS, 2009). Within each community, primary (N = 164) and secondary schools (N = 82) were randomly selected. Of schools invited to participate, 83% (n = 443) responded, and of
Results
For Model 1 there was a significant total effect of family conflict on dieting after adjusting for controls (Table 1). There were significant yet small associations between dieting and age (p < 0.001), early pubertal onset (p < 0.001), and socioeconomic advantage (p < 0.001). The association of dieting and mother/father emotional closeness was nonsignificant. For Model 2 there was a significant effect of family conflict on depressed mood (p < 0.001). Depressed mood was also positively associated with
Discussion
The key findings of this study were that dieting behaviour was negatively associated with family conflict, positively associated with depressed mood, and that depressed mood mediated family conflict and dieting behaviour. Dieting behaviour was also associated with socioeconomic disadvantage and early pubertal onset. Emotional closeness to parents showed weak and consistent associations with depressed mood. While this study is based on a large sample and controls for several potential confounds,
Role of funding sources
This research was funded by an NHMRC Project Grant to J. Williams, J. Toumbourou, R. Homel, and G. Patton. Data analysis and preparation of this manuscript was supported by ARC DP130102015 to A. B. Kelly (first investigator). Study sponsors were not directly involved in the production of this manuscript or decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Contributors
Hinchliff completed this project as part of her honours dissertation under the supervision of the second author. Chan assisted in the data analysis. Hinchliff and Kelly wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Patton and Williams provided conceptual input on the study and reviewed the final manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript. We thank Professor John Toumbourou for his assistance and guidance with respect to this manuscript.
Conflict of interest
All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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