Poster #104 - Adolescents’ beliefs about problem eating behavior: A person-centered

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Health, Growth, Injury

Integrative Statement

As the prevalence of obesity and clinically-diagnosed eating disorders has risen (Jessor et al., 2010), developmental researchers have increasingly focused on antecedents of youth problematic eating behaviors. Less research has examined how adolescents conceptualize undereating, overeating, and unhealthy eating (eating foods low in nutritious value). Food-related behaviors are complex and involve dimensions of individual choice, parental control, and health concerns (Nucci & Smetana, 1996). Adolescents may differ in whether they believe problematic eating is harmful, wrong, or should be regulated by parents, and these differences may manifest as unique profiles of food-related beliefs. Associations have been found between adolescents’ beliefs and engagement in other behaviors (Metzger & Smetana, 2009; Nucci et al., 1991), and similar belief-behavior links may exist for problematic eating behaviors. The current study utilized a person-centered analytic approach to assess profiles of adolescent food-related beliefs, and explored associations between profiles and adolescents’ problematic eating behavior and attitudes.

Participants (N=161 adolescents, Mage=14.42, SD=1.73, 59.6% female, 80.7% white) reported on their food-related beliefs about under-eating (e.g., dieting to lose weight), over-eating (e.g., continuing to eat after full), and unhealthy eating behaviors (e.g., eating “junk” food) including how harmful and wrong each behavior was (Nucci et al., 1991). To assess desired autonomy, adolescents were asked “Who do you think should make the decision on each topic?” (1 = My parent should decide without me, 5 = I should decide by myself). Additionally, adolescents reported on their engagement in problematic over- and under-eating (van Strien et al., 1986), maladaptive eating attitudes (Maloney et al., 1988), and body image dissatisfaction (e.g., difference between “real” and “ideal” body shape, Stunkard et al., 1983).

Latent profile analysis conducted on adolescents’ food-related beliefs (harm, wrong, desired autonomy) for over, under, and unhealthy eating resulted in a 4-class solution based on an examination of AIC, BIC, SSABIC, and VLMR (Figure 1). Class 1 (22%) had low levels of desired autonomy and greater harmful and wrong ratings for all behaviors. Class 2 (43%) demonstrated the opposite pattern, reporting high levels of desired autonomy and low levels of harmfulness and wrongness for all behaviors. Class 3 (21%) reported higher desired autonomy for all behaviors and greater harm and wrong for unhealthy and overeating behavior. Finally, class 4 (14%) reported higher harm and wrong for undereating behavior and greater desired autonomy for unhealthy and overeating. ANOVA’s (Table 1) indicated that class 3 reported higher levels of undereating behavior compared to the other classes, as well as higher levels of maladaptive eating attitudes compared to classes 1 and 2. These differences remained significant after controlling for gender and body image dissatisfaction.

This study contributes to a growing literature on the importance of social-cognitive processes for youth engagement in health-risk behavior by demonstrating that adolescents differ in their beliefs about problematic eating with many adolescents distinguishing undereating behavior from over- and unhealthy eating. Moreover, youth who overly focus on the potential harmfulness of unhealthy and overeating may have greater maladaptive eating attitudes and be at risk for engaging in problematic undereating.

Authors

• Aaron Metzger, West Virginia University
  Presenting Author

• Katelyn Romm, West Virginia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Wendy Meredith Rote, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
  Non-Presenting Author