Coping style and vulnerability to eating disorders in adolescent boys

The main goal of this study was to analyse the relationship between coping styles and the predisposition to eating disorders in a sample of adolescent boys. The sample comprised 171 males (mean age 15.74 years) and the questionnaires used were the Eating Disorders Inventory‐2 (EDI‐2) and the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS). The results indicated that self‐blame, a scale of the dimension intropunitive avoidance, characterized by self‐blaming excessively in the face of problems, was the strategy most closely linked to the predisposition to eating disorders. This scale accounted for 18 per cent of the variance of the total score of the EDI‐2, 11 per cent of the drive for thinness and 10 per cent of the body dissatisfaction. Several hypotheses are presented in an attempt to account for the differences between the results of this study and those obtained by studies carried out with adolescent girls. Finally, the need for prevention programmes for adolescents, in particular in groups at risk, is emphasized. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.