Browsing by Subject "eating disorders"
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Item Cross-cultural assessment of eating disorders: psychometric properties of Spanish version of Bulimia Test-Revised(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Berrios-Hernandez, Mayra NoemiThe purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R). The goal was to test the factorstructure equivalence of the BULIT-R across two samples of college students from two different cultures, Spain and the U.S. Researchers using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) have reported different model solutions for the factor structure of the BULIT-R: a one-factor model (McCarthy et al., 2002); a four-factor model (Vincent et al., 2002), a five-factor model (Thelen et al., 1991) and a six factor model (Santos, 1996). For any of the two samples, CFA did not support any of the models previously reported in the literature. EFA supported a six and a four factor models for the US and Spanish samples, respectively.Item Eating disorder prevention research: a meta-analysis(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Fingeret, Michelle CororveThe purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the overall effectiveness of eating disorder prevention programs and to investigate potential moderating variables that may influence the magnitude of intervention effects. Meta-analysis was used to conduct a comprehensive and systematic analysis of data across 46 studies. Effect size estimates were grouped into outcome sets based on the following variables: knowledge, general eating pathology, dieting, thin-ideal internalization, body dissatisfaction, negative affect, and self-esteem. Q statistics were used to analyze the distribution of effect size estimates within each outcome set and to explore the systematic influence of moderating variables. Results revealed large effects on the acquisition of knowledge and small net effects on reducing maladaptive eating attitudes and behaviors at posttest and follow-up. These programs were not found to produce significant effects on negative affect, and there were inconsistent effects on self-esteem across studies. Population targeted was the sole moderator that could account for variability in effect size distributions. There was a tendency toward greater benefits for studies targeting participants considered to be at a relatively higher risk for developing an eating disorder. Previous assumptions regarding the insufficiency of "one-shot" interventions and concerns about the iatrogenic effects of including information about eating disorders in an intervention were not supported by the data. These findings challenge negative conclusions drawn in previous review articles regarding the inability of eating disorder prevention programs to demonstrate behavioral improvements. Although these findings have implications for the prevention of eating disorders, it was argued that a clear link between intervention efficacy and a decreased incidence of eating disorders was not demonstrated. Rather, only direct information was offered about the ability to influence eating disorder related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Specific recommendations related to intervention content, reasonable goals/expectations, and outcome criteria were offered for improving research in this area.Item Fear of fatness, eating attitudes, and anti-fat perspectives: a cross-cultural exploration of Euro-American and Indian university students(Texas A&M University, 2005-08-29) Ambwani, SumanAlthough recent data suggest the existence of anti-fat attitudes, fear of fatness, and maladaptive eating attitudes among Indian women, few researchers have examined the cross-cultural validity of their instruments before assessing Indian samples. The present study assessed the measurement equivalence of three related measures, the Anti-Fat Attitudes Scale, the Goldfarb Fear of Fat Scale, and the Eating Attitudes Test-26, and tested the invariance of latent means among Indian (n = 226) and Euro-American (n = 211) female college students. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses using maximum likelihood estimation with robust standard errors demonstrated reasonable measurement equivalence of the instruments across Indian and Euro-American groups. Confidence interval comparisons of latent means suggested that the Indians and Euro-Americans did not differ significantly in levels of fear of fatness or eating attitudes, but there were some group differences in anti-fat attitudes. Structural equation modeling suggested that fear of fatness and anti-fat attitudes predict about 66% of the variance in Indian eating attitudes; however, these results must be interpreted cautiously due to a poorly fitting measurement model. Results of multiple regression analyses suggested that the eating attitudes of the Indian respondents were not significantly predicted by theirsocioeconomic status or degree of Westernization. In conclusion, these data suggest that there are some similarities, but also some important differences, in the eating-related attitudes and behaviors of Euro-American and Indian women.Item Gender differences in psychopathology examined under an expanded transactional theory of stress framework(2009-05-15) Lee, Jillian AprilPrevalence rates of many types of psychopathology are lower for men than they are for women, but the causes of these discrepancies are not known. This paper focuses on two such psychopathology groups ? eating disorders and depressive disorders ? and examines gender differences within a transactional theory of stress that takes into account levels of cognitive processing (an expanded transactional theory of stress). Both studies found that men are more physiologically reactive to disorder-relevant, stressful stimuli and stressful events. The study on depression also found that different cognitive processes may be depressogenic for men and women: deployment of attentional resources toward negative stimuli was associated with depression in men, while deployment of attentional resources away from positive stimuli was associated with depression in women. These findings have significant implications for choosing appropriate treatment options for men and women.Item Integrating Thin-Ideal Internalization and Self-Objectification within Eating Disorder Prevention for Women(2012-02-14) Kroon Van Diest, Ashley MichelleA cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification was conducted within the context of an eating disorder prevention program. The sample consisted of 177 undergraduate women enrolled in a sorority between the ages of 18 and 22 who participated in a dissonance-based eating disorder prevention program. Participants completed self-report assessments at baseline, post-intervention, 5-month, and 1-year follow-up. Measures included the Ideal-Body Stereotype Scale-Revised, Self-Objectification Questionnaire, Body Shape Questionnaire, and Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. A cross-sectional path analysis indicated that thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification predict each other and both predict body dissatisfaction, which in turn, predicts eating disorder symptoms. A longitudinal examination of the prevention program indicated that participants showed significant reductions in thin-ideal internalization, self-objectification, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptoms after participating in a cognitive dissonance eating disorder prevention program. Significant reductions of all symptoms were maintained at 1-year follow-up, with the exception of self-objectification, which had a significant reduction up to the 5-month assessment. A longitudinal path analysis indicated that post-intervention thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification predicted body dissatisfaction at 5-month follow-up assessments which in turn predicted eating disorder symptoms at this same time point. This model was replicated for 1-year follow-up body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms with the exception of the direct path from self-objectification to body dissatisfaction. Assessment of temporal sequence of change between self-objectification and thin-ideal internalization revealed that neither variable significantly predicted meaningful change in the other variable. Finally, individuals who showed meaningful change in self-objectification before showing meaningful reduction in thin-ideal internalization from baseline to post-intervention assessments had greater reductions in eating disorder symptoms 1-year following the intervention. Collectively, these results suggest that eating disorder prevention programs should focus on targeting both thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification simultaneously to increase further the reduction of eating disorder symptoms.Item Measuring eating disorder attitudes and behaviors: a reliability generalization study(2009-05-15) Pearson, Crystal AnneI used reliability generalization procedures to determine the mean score reliability of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), and the Bulimia Test (BULIT). Reliability generalization is a type of meta-analysis used to examine the mean score reliability of a measure across studies and to explore study factors that influence mean score reliability. Score reliability estimates were included in 28.67% of 293 studies using the EDI, 36.28% of 215 studies using the EAT, and 41.46% of 41 studies utilizing the BULIT. For the EDI, mean Cronbach?s alphas for the subscales ranged from .52 to .89 and the mean estimate for the total score was .91. For the EAT-40 and EAT-26, mean estimates of internal consistency were .81 and .86 respectively. Mean estimates of internal consistency for the EAT-26 subscales ranged from .56 to .80. The mean estimate of internal consistency for the BULIT-R was .93. Overall, the mean reliability of scores on all three measures and their subscales/factors was acceptable except for the Asceticism subscale of the EDI and the Oral Control factor on the EAT-26, which had mean internal consistency estimates of .52 and .56 respectively. For the EDI, the majority of the subscales that measure specific eating disorder attitudes and behaviors, such as Bulimia and Perfectionism displayed higher score reliability in clinical eating disorder samples than in nonclinical samples. This difference was not found in the Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction subscales, perhaps because these attitudes are common in both eating disorder and nonclinical samples. Score reliability information for the EAT and BULIT was primarily reported for nonclinical samples; therefore, it is difficult to characterize the effect of type of sample on these measures. There was a tendency for mean score reliability for all the measures to be higher in the adult samples than in adolescent samples and in the female samples compared to the male samples. This study highlights the importance of assessing and reporting internal consistency every time a measure is used because reliability is affected by characteristics of the participants being examined.Item ?STOP EATING?CLEAN YOUR PLATE!?: THE EFFECTS OF PARENTAL CONTROL OF FOOD CONSUMPTION DURING CHILDHOOD ON COLLEGE FEMALES' EATING BEHAVIOR(2010-07-14) Pfeffer, Amanda J.The immediate effect of maternal control of their daughter's eating is well documented. However, the longterm effect of both maternal and paternal control of eating during childhood on adults' current eating attitudes and behaviors has been a relatively unexplored area. Parents play a central role in shaping the family eating environment, which provides a context for the child's relationship with food for years to come (Birch, Fisher, Grimm-Thomas, Markey, Sawyer & Johnson, 2001). The present study focused on expanding the existing knowledge base concerning parental control over eating. Two hundred sixty-seven female adult participants completed a questionnaire packet designed to measure maternal and paternal restriction and pressure to eat during childhood, family mealtime stress during childhood, current restriction, binge eating, emotional eating, eating from external cues, and current affect during meals. Results indicated that parental pressure to eat during childhood are related to restricted eating, emotional eating, and eating from external cues during adulthood. Family mealtime stress during childhood was related to binge eating, restricted eating, emotional eating, eating from external cues, and negative affect while eating during adulthood. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are presented.Item Testing Mediators of a Couple-based Eating Disorder Prevention Program(2012-10-19) Ramirez, Ana LorenaBody image dissatisfaction and eating disorders are more prevalent in today?s society than ever, making the prevention of eating disorders and its symptoms crucial for women?s health. A couple-based eating disorder prevention program was developed based on the dual pathway model of eating disorders and some efficacy has been established. The current study explored the program?s mechanisms of change by testing mediators (thin ideal internalization and body dissatisfaction) expected to mediate the effects of the program on three outcome variables (dieting, negative affect, and bulimic symptoms). Although none of the mediated paths were significant, results of the study were overall consistent with previous research and provided further support for the efficacy of the prevention program. In addition to these variables, effects of the prevention on relationship variables (relationship satisfaction, attachment anxiety and avoidance, and commitment) were explored. Finally, relationship intimacy, measured by an event-contingent interaction, was found to have an effect on an important eating disorder risk factor. Implications of the present study and future directions for the prevention and treatment of eating disorders are discussed.