Child Characteristics that Moderate Longitudinal Associations from Peer Acceptance and Loneliness to Increases in Weight Concerns

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Social Relationships

Abstract

Weight concerns and body image problems challenge the well-being of many children and adolescents. For girls, body image disturbances can begin as early 6 years old (Slater & Tiggemann, 2016). Body dissatisfaction is of concern to parents and practitioners alike, because it is tied to a host of socioemotional difficulties (ter Bogt et al., 2006). What predicts the rise of body dissatisfaction? Both loneliness (Sinton et al., 2012) and low acceptance (Rancourt & Prinstein, 2010) have been tied to body image difficulties during adolescence. The present longitudinal study was designed to extend this work to the primary school years, during a time when body image ideals are fluid and when relations with peers play an important role in shaping perceptions of one’s own body (Davison et al., 2003; Davison & McCabe, 2006).

Participants included 292 (134 boys, 158 girls) third, fourth and fifth grade students attending a public-school required by statue to be representative of the state of Florida in terms of ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Students completed surveys at two timepoints, 13 to 14 weeks apart. Students completed a standard sociometric instrument on which they selected an unlimited number of classmates (e.g., Who do you like to spend time with?). Acceptance represented the number of liked-most nominations received, standardized by class size. Loneliness (Parker & Asher, 1993) and weight concerns (Schacht et al., 2006) were measured with 3-item surveys rated on a scale that ranged from1 (never) to 5 (always).

To test the hypothesis that acceptance and loneliness predict changes in weight concerns, regression analyses and follow-up interaction plots were conducted with the PROCESS macro for SPSS (Hayes, 2020). Associations were hypothesized to be stronger for girls than for boys, so gender was included as a potential moderator.

Table 2 presents the results. There was a statistically significant main effect for acceptance, such that higher initial levels of acceptance were associated with greater declines in weight concerns. There was no main effect for loneliness, but there was a borderline significant interaction between loneliness and gender. Figure 2 presents the results of follow-up simple slope analyses of the two-way interaction. For girls, there was a positive association between loneliness and weight concerns such that higher initial levels of loneliness were associated with greater increases in weight concerns. For boys, there was no association between loneliness and weight concerns.

We conclude that low acceptance exacerbates weight concerns, as does loneliness, especially for girls. The present study is unique because it clearly ties peer relations to changes in weight concern during the primary school years. Preadolescents are at a fragile state for developing weight concern, and these results may help prevent extreme unhealthy behavior that occurs in adolescence due to increased weight concerns. It is important to examine weight concerns before individuals begin experiencing more severe symptoms in adolescence because it would allow interventions to target those at risk and implement preventative measures. Having this knowledge could reduce eating disorder symptoms among adolescents and improve their mental health surrounding body image.

Authors

• Mary Page Leggett-James, Florida Atlantic University
  Presenting Author

• Emily Herrmann, Florida Atlantic University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Brett Laursen, Florida Atlantic University
  Non-Presenting Author