Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to weight-related concerns such as body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and body surveillance. These issues are often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and the quality of friendships. This study explored how ER and friendship quality, both independently and interactively, predict these weight-related issues. A sample of 106 girls aged 11–21 completed questionnaires on ER, friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and disordered eating behaviors. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that greater ER difficulties were significantly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. Additionally, negative friendship quality predicted emotional eating. Interaction effects revealed that friendship discord could either exacerbate or buffer the effects of ER difficulties on restraint eating and objectified body consciousness. These findings highlight the roles of interpersonal (friendship) and intrapersonal (emotion regulation) factors in understanding adolescent girls’ vulnerability to weight-related issues and inform potential interventions.
","abstract_html":"<p>Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to weight-related concerns such as body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and body surveillance. These issues are often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and the quality of friendships. This study explored how ER and friendship quality, both independently and interactively, predict these weight-related issues. A sample of 106 girls aged 11–21 completed questionnaires on ER, friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and disordered eating behaviors. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that greater ER difficulties were significantly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. Additionally, negative friendship quality predicted emotional eating. Interaction effects revealed that friendship discord could either exacerbate or buffer the effects of ER difficulties on restraint eating and objectified body consciousness. These findings highlight the roles of interpersonal (friendship) and intrapersonal (emotion regulation) factors in understanding adolescent girls’ vulnerability to weight-related issues and inform potential interventions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ganesan Shanthi, Vasavi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Chong Man Chow, Ph.D.","Eamonn Arble, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z","subjects":["friendship","body dissatisfaction","eating behaviors","emotion regulation","Clinical Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1316","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Chong Man Chow, Ph.D.","Eamonn Arble, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ganesan Shanthi, Vasavi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-10-07T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["friendship","body dissatisfaction","eating behaviors","emotion regulation","Clinical Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1316"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to weight-related concerns such as body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and body surveillance. These issues are often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and the quality of friendships. This study explored how ER and friendship quality, both independently and interactively, predict these weight-related issues. A sample of 106 girls aged 11–21 completed questionnaires on ER, friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and disordered eating behaviors. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that greater ER difficulties were significantly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. Additionally, negative friendship quality predicted emotional eating. Interaction effects revealed that friendship discord could either exacerbate or buffer the effects of ER difficulties on restraint eating and objectified body consciousness. These findings highlight the roles of interpersonal (friendship) and intrapersonal (emotion regulation) factors in understanding adolescent girls’ vulnerability to weight-related issues and inform potential interventions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The interplay between friendship quality and emotion regulation in the prediction of weight-related concerns among adolescent girls"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Chong Man Chow, Ph.D.","Eamonn Arble, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Ganesan Shanthi, Vasavi"],"dc:date.available":["2025-10-07T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Adolescent girls are especially vulnerable to weight-related concerns such as body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and body surveillance. These issues are often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation (ER) and the quality of friendships. This study explored how ER and friendship quality, both independently and interactively, predict these weight-related issues. A sample of 106 girls aged 11–21 completed questionnaires on ER, friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, objectified body consciousness, and disordered eating behaviors. Results from hierarchical regression analyses showed that greater ER difficulties were significantly associated with increased body dissatisfaction, emotional eating, and restrained eating. Additionally, negative friendship quality predicted emotional eating. Interaction effects revealed that friendship discord could either exacerbate or buffer the effects of ER difficulties on restraint eating and objectified body consciousness. These findings highlight the roles of interpersonal (friendship) and intrapersonal (emotion regulation) factors in understanding adolescent girls’ vulnerability to weight-related issues and inform potential interventions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1316"],"dc:subject":["friendship","body dissatisfaction","eating behaviors","emotion regulation","Clinical Psychology"],"dc:title":["The interplay between friendship quality and emotion regulation in the prediction of weight-related concerns among adolescent girls"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z"}