Developmental Stressors and Associated Coping Skills in the Development of Disordered Eating in College Females

There is a lack of clarity in the current literature in how potential etiological factors interact and result in disordered eating. The purpose of this study was to examine an expanded model of Personality, Social Support, Appraisal/Coping Processes, Abuse History, Internalization of Sociocultural Standards, Psychological Disturbances, and Body Disparagement in the development of disordered eating. The current model was evaluated using 276 women in their transition to college, a time period highly associated with symptoms believed to increase a woman's risk for the development of disordered eating including perceived difficulty coping, weight gain, and negative affect. Structural equation modeling was used to allow simultaneous examination of the causal relationships between the factors. Structural analyses confirmed that college women with previous stressful experiences appraised the adjustment to college as more stressful and reported feeling less able to cope with the transition. Those women who identified the transition as overwhelming were also aware of increased negative mood and psychological states since beginning the school semester. Further, women with previous traumatic sexual experiences appeared to be at additional risk for increased negative affective symptoms. The resulting model confirmed that those women who experience negative mood states and those that endorse strong internalization of cultural values regarding attractiveness encountered increased dissatisfaction and disapproval of their bodies. Finally, women with higher levels of body concern engaged in more eating behaviors associated with disordered eating. The roles of personality functioning and perceived social support could not be identified in the developmental model. The predictive links between constructs in the resulting model provide meaningful information regarding the transition to college and associated risks for development of disordered eating. Validation of the model in an independent sample would provide confirmation of these relationships and longitudinal research examining females' attitudes across crucial developmental periods might provide important information regarding which individuals are most at risk for development of disordered eating.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of North Texas

Year dc:date

2002

Author dc:creator

• Tripp, Margaret Murphy

Contributors dc:contributor

• Petrie, Trent A.
• Sewell, Kenneth W.
• Neumann, Craig S.
• Kern, Carolyn

• Eating disorders in women -- Psychological aspects.
• Women college students -- Psychology.
• Adjustment (Psychology)
• college females
• eating disorders
• developmental stressor
• coping skills
• body disparagement

Statement dc:rights

• Use restricted to UNT Community
• Copyright
• Tripp, Margaret Murphy
• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

oclc: 50914200
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3170/
ark: ark:/67531/metadc3170

OAI identifier oai:identifier

info:ark/67531/metadc3170