Risk and protective factors for disturbed eating: A 7-year longitudinal study of eating attitudes and psychological factors in adolescent girls and their parents

The aims of this seven-year longitudinal study of 228 girls (9- and 13-yr olds) were to examine 1) the predictive value of eating attitudes, a wish to be thinner, dieting, perfectionism, self-esteem and Body Mass Index; 2) the girls’ parents’ eating attitudes and perfectionism in relation to the development of disturbed eating attitudes, seven years later; and 3) whether normal body weight, healthy eating attitudes and low perfectionism together with high self-esteem might operate as protective factors for the later development of disturbed eating attitudes. The pre-adolescent girls (9-yr olds) “wish to be thinner” and fathers’ EAT scores contributed most to the prediction of disturbed eating attitudes seven years later. Corresponding analysis for the adolescent girls (13-yr olds) showed that a “wish to be thinner” and mothers’ rating on perfectionism contributed most to the prediction of disturbed eating attitudes seven years later. Protective factors were low BMI and more healthy eating attitudes — especially moderated by high selfesteem, and a low-to-medium degree of perfectionism. High self-esteem appeared to be a protective factor when the girls had a high degree of perfectionism. These results suggest that it is important to focus on healthy eating attitudes at home to prevent overweight in early childhood, enhance self-esteem and to take a critical stand toward the thinness ideal in our society.