Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Eating Behaviours'
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Palfreyman, Zoe. "Parental modelling of eating behaviours." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2013. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/12573.
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At present, the process of parental modelling of eating behaviours and attitudes has received limited research interest. While often mentioned as a possible factor in relation to child feeding and the development of eating behaviours, only a few studies have explicitly researched parental modelling. The main aims of this thesis were to develop a new measure to assess modelling multidimensionally and to explore the relationships between parental modelling of eating behaviours with a variety of parent and child factors. Initially, a parental self-report measure (the Parental Modelling of Eating Behaviours Scale; PARM) was developed, validated and piloted as part of a series of studies exploring the associations between modelling and a range of self-reported parental and child factors. To provide further validation for the PARM, an observational coding scheme was developed, based on the newly developed modelling measure, and this was utilised in two further studies which looked at self-reported and observed parent and child factors. The key findings from this thesis suggest a number of beneficial relationships. For example, maternal modelling was positively correlated with healthy food intake in both mothers and their children. In addition, both maternal and paternal modelling were associated with children s increased enjoyment of food and lower levels of food fussiness. Observations of maternal modelling were also found to be positively related to other observed adaptive, non-directive feeding practices, such as encouragement to eat. However, less positive relationships were also identified, with modelling being related to parents mental health symptoms and to unhealthy food intake in both mothers and their children. In conclusion, this thesis has identified three distinct facets of modelling and highlighted factors which might be linked to parental role modelling around eating behaviours. While much of the research within this thesis is exploratory, and the findings require replication, they would suggest that parental modelling has the potential to positively influence children s eating behaviours. However, parents should also be made aware of the potential detrimental effect that modelling less adaptive eating behaviours may have on their children s food intake, particularly those eating behaviours that parents may be unaware of modelling.
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Moore, Sue. "Improving the eating behaviours of primary schoolchildren." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2011. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/55143/.
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Socio-ecological health improvement approaches, such as Health Promoting Schools, emphasise the dynamic inter-relationships between individuals and environments, such as children's experiences with food in school. Evaluating previous school-based nutritional interventions from a socio-ecological perspective suggests areas where macro policy is ineffective in influencing children's eating behaviour (e.g., some children remain unwilling to consume healthier food). On the other hand, promising results have been obtained from interventions based on the social interactions between children and school meal staff. The aim of this thesis is to explore how school-based nutritional policies might realise health improvements through understanding the policy and environmental contexts associated with school dining halls, together with the influences on children's eating behaviour of the feeding strategies employed by school meal staff. A qualitative case study was conducted in one Welsh Local Education Authority (LEA). Observations were carried out in eleven primary school dining halls, supplemented by interviews with participants at multiple socio-ecological levels. LEA and school policies reflected national objectives with respect to nutritional guidelines, but were influenced by multiple, competing interests including pupil's food preferences, and organisational objectives such as protecting school meal uptake. Some dining hall features (e.g., accommodation, negative teacher modelling) had an adverse influence on eating behaviour and many children failed to select and/or consume nutritionally balanced meals. The feeding strategies used by school meal staff were used naturally but inconsistently and were subject to contextual constraints (e.g., time pressures). Higher level policy interventions may have limited effectiveness if undermined by lack of attention to lower level factors compromising their effectiveness. Behavioural approaches based on repeated taste exposure to encourage children to taste the nutritionally balanced meals made available by school meal policies are recommended. As utilising teachers during lunchtimes may be problematic, enrichment of the feeding interactions between school meal staff and children is suggested.
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Gallant, Annette. "Eating behaviours and body weight in adolescents." Thesis, Université Laval, 2010. http://www.theses.ulaval.ca/2010/27642/27642.pdf.
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Fernandes-Machado, Sandra. "Modelling eating behaviours : from childhood to adolescence." Thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/3248.
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This thesis aimed to explore the relationships between predictors1 of eating behaviours in both childhood and adolescence and investigate their influence on food choice and food intake. For this, a global approach was used integrating individual, social and environmental predictors. The data included 210 participants aged 6-8 years old and 303 at the age of 12-13 of the Gateshead Millennium Study. Section II (Food intake in childhood) aimed to explore the relationships between predictors (e.g. trying and liking fruits and vegetables, parents’ food intake, etc.) and how they influence food intake in childhood (6-8 years old). Higher intake of healthy food was directly associated to liking fruits/vegetables and lower deprivation level, whereas higher intake of unhealthy was directly associated to lower level of liking fruits and lower BMI. Section III (Food choice and food intake in adolescence) aimed to explore the relationships between predictors (e.g. intention and temptation to eat healthy and unhealthy food, inhibitory control, etc.) and how they influence food choice and food intake in adolescence (12-13 years old). Temptation was the strongest predictor of the food choice, whereas inhibitory control was the only predictor of healthy intake. None of the predictors influenced unhealthy intake. Section IV (Longitudinal analysis) aimed to explore how food intake and its predictors in childhood influence eating behaviours and their predictors in adolescence. Tracking was weak in unhealthy intake and moderate in healthy intake. Several relationships between predictors from childhood influencing directly or indirectly eating behaviours in adolescence were found. This thesis gives some evidence of the complexity of eating behaviours in childhood and adolescence. Some limitations and implications for practice and future research are discussed.
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Satherley, Rose-Marie. "Disordered eating attitudes and behaviours in coeliac disease." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2017. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/7518/.
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This thesis examines the relationship between coeliac disease (CD) and disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. The literature review describes the development of a theoretical model of disordered eating in CD that will be evaluated throughout this thesis. Chapter Three reports the results of a study that found a high prevalence of disordered eating in CD. Chapter Four reports the results of a qualitative study; participants in this study discussed an increased concern around food that affected their eating patterns. Chapter Five describes the development and validation of the CD Food Attitudes and Behaviours Scale (CD-FAB), which was designed to assess the increased food concerns reported in CD. Chapter Six reports the results of an online survey that explored the correlates of this tool; participants with increased food concerns were more psychologically distressed and had an impaired quality of life. Chapter Seven reports the results of a laboratory study that explored the relationship between food concerns, food intake and cognitive processes related to eating. Overall, this thesis provides novel experimental and theoretical insights into the relationship between CD and disordered eating. The findings have implications for the management and treatment of people with CD.
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Kerin, Jessica L. "Intersecting Approaches to the Study of Eating: A Focus on Intuitive, Mindful, Emotional, and External Eating." Thesis, Griffith University, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/390790.
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The proportion of individuals deemed overweight or obese has reached an all-time high globally, and eating disorder rates are also on the rise. These statistics make it even more important to understand eating beliefs and behaviours and some of their covariates that could be addressed with interventions. However, past research has tended to focus on eating motivations, beliefs, or styles that could lead to overweight and obesity, rather than focussing on those expected to be important to eating regulation and weight management, such as intuitive or mindful eating. Intuitive and mindful eating are expected to be beneficial because they are believed to be motivated by hunger and satiety cues and a respect and appreciation for the body, its needs, and how it functions. Related to these concepts, overeating regulation has also been described in other literature, which refers to an ability to minimise overeating specifically. The first general aim of this thesis was to understand whether these “adaptive” eating patterns were more than merely the absence, or lower levels of, maladaptive eating. Before this could be achieved, a measure of overeating regulation had to be created and examined for its component structure and validity. In addition, a second general aim was to investigate the correlates and predictors of intuitive and mindful eating. These aims were met by conducting four studies.
Study 1 included 312 Australian university students (68% women; Mage = 22 years), whereas Studies 2-4 were drawn from a large independent sample of 2,018 women aged between 16 and 81 years (Mage = 23.1 years), with the majority (86.7%) age 30 or younger, and most (87%) university students. Study 3 limited the sample to young women between the ages of 16 and 30 years with complete data, resulting in 1,663 participants (82.4% of the full sample; Mage = 20.2 years). In Study 1, an existing eating behaviour measure (i.e., the Weight Efficacy Life-Style Questionnaire; Clark et. al., 1991) was modified with the aim of directly assessing regulation of overeating. This study involved tests of this measures’ structure and convergence with emotion regulation, mindfulness, eating pathology, gender, and age. Study 2 examined the interrelations between, and the core components of, multiple measures of adaptive and maladaptive eating approaches. Study 3 examined whether intuitive and mindful eating were uniquely associated with three disordered and restrictive weight management behaviours of dieting, bulimic symptomology, and exercise for weight or shape control, as well as a fourth outcome of general psychological well-being, beyond any effects of external and emotional eating, body dissatisfaction, and BMI on each outcome. Study 3 also assessed whether intuitive and mindful eating were indirectly associated with each outcome via lower levels of external and emotional eating. Study 4 tested an expanded acceptance model of intuitive eating which incorporated two internal sources of acceptance or personal strengths, namely self-concept clarity and self-compassion, to complement the original interpersonal or external sources of acceptance of general unconditional acceptance by others and perceived body acceptance by others. This model was also tested in relation to mindful eating.
The results from the four studies suggest that (1) there is considerable covariation between operationalisations of intuitive and mindful eating, and similarity in the correlates and predictors of intuitive and mindful eating; and (2) it may be too reductionistic to view adaptive and maladaptive eating as opposite ends of the same continuum because although multiple adaptive eating measures were highly negatively correlated with several maladaptive eating measures, several other adaptive and maladaptive eating measures are better described as tapping somewhat unique attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and behaviours regarding food and eating. Implications for research, theory, and clinical practice are discussed. The current program of research highlights the complexity of eating behaviour, warranting further integration of multiple measures of eating beliefs, processes, and patterns at the conceptual and measurement levels. In particular, longitudinal research is required to determine the nuanced relationships between different eating behaviours, and the core superordinate eating styles that they may represent, as well as their impact on health and well-being, and the underlying mechanisms involved in such ways of eating. The current research findings also provide a foundation for considering how to integrate multiple fields of study related to eating, which may assist with the identification of the most critical eating behaviours or styles that will promote optimal health and well-being.Thesis (Professional Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology (PhD ClinPsych)
School of Applied Psychology
Griffith Health
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Bunce, Paul E. "The many faces of disordered eating, an analysis of eating behaviours in an adolescent sample." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ61538.pdf.
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Sherlock, Romy Caroline. "Disordered eating behaviours and alcohol misuse in university students." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.511150.
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Kime, Nicola. "Children's eating behaviours : an intergenerational study of family influences." Thesis, Leeds Beckett University, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.603329.
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Childhood obesity has become a major public health challenge. Work has already been done that focuses on schools and possible interventions in this area but there is apparently very little that targets the family environment and specifically looks at the family food culture within different generations. In recognition of the fact that the family environment has an important role to play in tackling the childhood obesity epidemic, this research aimed to redress the balance and examined the affect of the family on children's eating behaviours within an intergenerational context. The research process was governed by a qualitative, grounded theory approach that initially explored eating behaviours within different generations using sixteen focus group discussions. Following this, twenty seven semistructured one-to-one interviews were conducted that investigated eating behaviours of different generations within families, incorporating two types of families, those with an obese child and those with a normal weight child. What emerged was a substantive theory based on ordering of eating that explained differences in eating behaviours between the various families. The theory of ordering of eating enriches our understanding of familial influences on children's eating behaviours. It demonstrates how micro and macro order affects family choices concerning food and eating and the development of children's eating behaviours within this context. In addition, ordering of eating addresses the 'how' of eating and not simply the 'what' of eating. Current strategies for tackling childhood obesity tend to be more aligned with a medical approach where the emphasis is on controlling diet and the type of food intake which is a product of disordered eating behaviours. Focusing on family eating patterns and a return to the enjoyment of eating represents an innovative and promising alternative for those concerned with the development of interventions aimed at children's eating and childhood obesity, as these research findings demonstrate.
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Walther, Mireille, and Anja Hilbert. "Emotional openness, problematic eating behaviours, and overweight in adolescents." Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, 2016. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-206051.
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Overweight, a common health condition in adolescence, has been linked with difficulties in emotional processing. This study investigates associations between emotional processing, conceptualised through the model of Emotional Openness (EO), problematic eating behaviours, including Eating in the Absence of Hunger and disinhibited eating, and overweight in adolescents. Several self-report instruments were completed by 160 youngsters (mean age: 14.36 ± 0.61 years) from the community, including 39 overweight and obese adolescents (24.5%). In girls, bootstrap analyses supported a mediating effect of restrained eating on the relation between three EO dimensions and body mass index percentile, in particular the communication of emotions, the cognitive-conceptual representation of emotions, and the perception of bodily indicator of emotions. No mediating effect was found in boys. These results have important implications for psychological weight management interventions, as they underline the relevance of work on emotional processing in order to reduce problematic eating behaviours.
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Walther, Mireille, and Anja Hilbert. "Temperament dispositions, problematic eating behaviours, and overweight in adolescents." Universitätsbibliothek Leipzig, 2016. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:15-qucosa-206060.
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Obesity, a common health condition in adolescence leading to severe medical complications, is assumed to be influenced by temperament factors. This paper investigates associations between reactive and regulative temperament, problematic eating behaviours, and excess weight. Several self-report instruments were completed by 130 adolescents (mean age 14.13 ± 0.61 years), including 27 overweight and obese individuals (20.8%). Bootstrap analysis revealed a mediating effect of restrained eating on the relation between reactive temperament and body mass index percentile, which differed according to gender: Restrained eating, which predicted weight gain, was more present in girls having a higher sensitivity to reward and in boys showing a higher sensitivity to punishment. No effect of regulative temperament was found. These results have important implications for weight management programs, as they suggest that reducing restrained eating by working on temperament may help to control weight.
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Walther, Mireille, and Anja Hilbert. "Emotional openness, problematic eating behaviours, and overweight in adolescents." Eating behaviors (2015)17, S. 111-114, 2015. https://ul.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A14809.
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Overweight, a common health condition in adolescence, has been linked with difficulties in emotional processing. This study investigates associations between emotional processing, conceptualised through the model of Emotional Openness (EO), problematic eating behaviours, including Eating in the Absence of Hunger and disinhibited eating, and overweight in adolescents. Several self-report instruments were completed by 160 youngsters (mean age: 14.36 ± 0.61 years) from the community, including 39 overweight and obese adolescents (24.5%). In girls, bootstrap analyses supported a mediating effect of restrained eating on the relation between three EO dimensions and body mass index percentile, in particular the communication of emotions, the cognitive-conceptual representation of emotions, and the perception of bodily indicator of emotions. No mediating effect was found in boys. These results have important implications for psychological weight management interventions, as they underline the relevance of work on emotional processing in order to reduce problematic eating behaviours.
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Walther, Mireille, and Anja Hilbert. "Temperament dispositions, problematic eating behaviours, and overweight in adolescents." European eating disorders review (2015) 24, 1, S. 19–25, 2015. https://ul.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A14810.
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Obesity, a common health condition in adolescence leading to severe medical complications, is assumed to be influenced by temperament factors. This paper investigates associations between reactive and regulative temperament, problematic eating behaviours, and excess weight. Several self-report instruments were completed by 130 adolescents (mean age 14.13 ± 0.61 years), including 27 overweight and obese individuals (20.8%). Bootstrap analysis revealed a mediating effect of restrained eating on the relation between reactive temperament and body mass index percentile, which differed according to gender: Restrained eating, which predicted weight gain, was more present in girls having a higher sensitivity to reward and in boys showing a higher sensitivity to punishment. No effect of regulative temperament was found. These results have important implications for weight management programs, as they suggest that reducing restrained eating by working on temperament may help to control weight.
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Wright, Fiona Elizabeth. "Onset and course of eating disorders and self-injurious behaviours." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.418756.
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Amin, Reena. "Body-related behaviours and associated cognitions in the eating disorders." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.540719.
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Young, Emily. "An exploratory study investigating the transition between eating disorder behaviours." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2014. http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/19023/.
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Introduction: Diagnostic systems conceptualise different eating disorders as discrete entities, identified at a particular point in time. However, research shows there is much overlap between ‘anorexia’ and ‘bulimia’, and the most prevalent diagnosis is ‘Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified’ (EDNOS), when people fail to meet full criteria for other diagnoses (Fairburn & Bohn, 2005). When considered from a longitudinal perspective, eating disorder diagnoses and behaviours also tend to change over time, a phenomenon called ‘diagnostic crossover’. Although it is accepted that the prevalence of ‘diagnostic crossover’ in eating disorders is high (e.g. Eddy et al., 2002), the process through which it occurs is poorly understood. Authors have suggested that higher movement from ‘anorexia’ into ‘bulimia’ may represent an inability to maintain restrictive eating and have deliberated about a ‘natural course’ to the eating disorders. Although physiological and psychological effects of starvation suggest this may play a part (Polivy, 1996), some people avoid diagnostic crossover and others move from ‘bulimia’ into ‘anorexia’, which suggests additional factors are involved. Other researchers have proposed that clinical and personality variables such as low self directedness influence these transitions (Tozzi et al., 2005), but the results are inconsistent. Eating disorder therapies are underpinned by psychological models, but these are theorised on the basis of eating disorder diagnoses, which for the reasons above may be invalid, and ignore transitions between them. Although some theories acknowledge crossover (e.g. Fairburn, Cooper & Shafran, 2003), they fail to fully account for the process. Since anorexia binge-purge type, and therefore the acquisition of more eating disorder behaviours, is often associated with poorer outcomes (e.g. Carter et al., 2012, Favaro & Santonastaso, 1996, Herzog, Schellberg & Deter,1997), better understanding of the way eating disorders change over time could improve outcomes and quality of life for patients. Objectives:To investigate the experience of diagnostic crossover, which will be referred to as ‘eating disorder transitions’ to represent the phenomenon as a process rather than a discrete event. This aims to gain a better understanding of the process through which this occurs, and improve insight into the trajectory of eating disorders to further our understanding of them. Methods: Twelve people with a history of transitioning between ‘anorexic behaviours’ (more restrictive eating) and ‘bulimic behaviours’ (bingeing and/or purging) were interviewed about the experience. The results were analysed using ‘Thematic Analysis’. Results and Discussion: Participants’ eating disorders tended to focus on restrictive eating before cycles of bingeing and purging developed in a staged process. The effects of certain life experiences either triggered a change, or facilitated the emergence of these different eating disorder behaviours. When the expression of eating disorders was inhibited and underlying emotional difficulties remained, the eating disorder changed to a different form to compensate. Since participants continually valued being thin, bingeing and purging behaviours were evaluated much more negatively than phases of restrictive eating and led to risky behaviours. The findings suggest that attempts to change eating disorder behaviours without helping patients manage their underlying difficulties first should perhaps be avoided.
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Wilson, Ceri. "The relationship between trait eating behaviours and food-related attentional biases." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2013. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/13635.
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Attentional bias (AB) refers to the tendency to selectively attend to (orientation towards) and/or hold attention on (slowed disengagment from) disorder-relevant stimuli. Females with eating-related concerns are thought to preferentially process threatening stimuli, which in turn is thought to maintain and exacerbate eating concerns. The aim of the present thesis was to explore AB for threatening stimuli in females characterised by restrained, external or emotional eating, and those with high levels of (non-clinical) eating psychopathology. This was carried out with the intention of identifying cognitive processes that contribute to eating behaviours in females, in order to assess the relevance of an attention training (AT) programme for reducing such biases. A pilot study assessed orientation/slowed disengagement, for mood and food words amongst females with high/low levels of restraint. Forty females completed a modified Stroop task with three conditions. Food and mood conditions included sequences of five words ( target food/mood followed by four neutral). The neutral condition consisted of all neutral words. Performance did not significantly differ according to high/low restraint groups. All participants took longest to colour-name word position 2 (demonstrating slowed disengagement lasting one consecutive trial). However, this pattern was also found in the neutral condition. Methodological limitations were then addressed in study one. High/low restrained eaters (n=48) completed a modified Stroop where targets (food, interpersonal threat, animal) were presented prior to four neutral words. Participants were slow to disengage from targets (slowest for word position 2) in all conditions. Patterns of responding indicated that restrained eaters might take longer to disengage (i.e. the carry-over effect from the food word seemed to last longer than one trial). However, more neutral words in the sequence were needed to assess this. As slowed disengagement from animals also arose, a categorical effect may have occurred. Study two explored attention processing of food using modified Stroop and dot probe tasks. In the Stroop task targets (food, interpersonal threat, household objects) were presented prior to six matched neutral words. This task revealed no evidence of AB. No significant pattern of differences between restrained (n=29)/unrestrained eaters (n=31) emerged; however, binge eating scores were significantly negatively correlated with response times. A dot probe task with food/neutral picture pairs also revealed no evidence of AB. Both restrained/unrestrained eaters had negative mean interference scores indicating avoidance of food. None of the following eating behaviours significantly correlated with AB: restraint, disinhibition, external eating, emotional eating and non-clinical eating psychopathology. Study three employed a further modified dot probe task based on image ratings. There was no evidence of AB, and no significant relation between task performance and restrained, emotional or external eating. 2000ms bias scores (assessing disengagement) were significantly negatively correlated with eating psychopathology and age, suggesting that those with high levels of non-clinical eating psychopathology attentionally avoid food stimuli and that younger females are slower to disengage attention from food (although found within a limited age range). Study four employed further modified Stroop and dot probe tasks, and assessed whether AB mediates the negative mood-eating relationship. Participants were allocated to negative or neutral mood conditions. No evidence of AB was found with the dot probe, but greater levels of emotional eating were associated with slower responding. In the Stroop task, all participants displayed an orientation bias towards food. Emotional eating and drive for thinness (DFT) scores were significantly positively correlated with food word colour-naming times but only amongst participants in a negative mood. However, those with high levels of external eating showed greater AB towards food when in a neutral mood. Highly emotional eaters in a negative mood showed a greater desire to eat than those in a neutral mood but did not increase in food intake. Furthermore, those with a high DFT (in a negative mood) showed no evidence of increased desire to eat or food intake. AB was not significantly related to subjective appetite or food intake. Therefore, AB does not seem to mediate the negative-mood eating relationship. The present thesis provides important suggestions for modifications of Stroop and dot probe tasks targeting orientation and disengagement. A modified Stroop has been more sensitive at detecting food AB than the dot probe. Implications of biased attention processing are discussed in relation to the development of harmful eating behaviours, and the present findings have important implications for developing programmes to prevent eating disorders amongst at-risk females (e.g. through AT or training at-risk females how to effectively cope with negative mood).
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Rance, Nicola M. "Female eating disorder clients' beliefs about female therapists' body size and eating behaviours : an exploration using thematic analysis." Thesis, University of the West of England, Bristol, 2013. http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/22130/.
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Although people with an eating disorder are known to observe and assess body related stimuli, research has yet to explore these behaviours in the therapy room. Consequently, little is known about clients’ feelings about, and responses to, a therapist’s body, or the potential for a therapist’s body to have an impact upon the process and outcome of treatment. This lack of knowledge is problematic given client preferences and expectations can affect their willingness to engage in, and be influenced by, their therapist and the therapy process, and the fact that a fundamental part of the intra- and interpersonal experience of people with an ED is that of feeling invisible, unheard and worthless. It is also problematic given the poor recovery rates and high levels of drop out in eating disorders treatment and the fact that clinical guidance providers, researchers in the eating disorders (ED) field and individuals who have recovered from AN, all advocate psychological interventions as part of AN treatment. This study begins the process of redressing this omission by exploring ED clients’ beliefs regarding what is important about an ED therapist’s body weight and shape, eating behaviours and relationship with food. Twelve women who self-identified as recovered or on the road to recovery from AN, and had received counselling for their ED from a female therapist, participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and three overarching themes were developed. The first theme – “Wearing Eating Disorder Glasses” – described the women’s observational tendencies. The second theme – “You’re Making All Sorts of Assumptions as a Client” – illustrated the women’s tendency to place great emphasis on body-related visual information when forming their opinions of, and beliefs about, a therapist. And the third theme – Appearance Matters – demonstrated the ways in which the women’s observation-based assumptions seemed to have potentially far-reaching implications for their attitude towards the therapeutic endeavour. Accordingly, the analysis offers preliminary evidence of a potentially important process taking place in the therapy room; namely, ED clients’ tendency to both observe their therapist’s body and eating behaviours, and make assumptions and judgements based on what they have seen. The analysis also suggests that ED clients’ assumptions and judgements may influence both their beliefs about their therapist’s ability to help them, and their willingness to engage in the therapeutic endeavour. Possible limitations of this study, areas for future research, and implications for practitioners in general and for counselling psychology and counselling psychologists in particular, are also discussed.
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Hackett, Julia Elizabeth Catherine. "The impact of social influence upon adolescents' exercise and eating behaviours." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.590269.
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Many adolescents in the UK do not meet the recommended government guidelines for physical activity and diet. The impact of social influence upon adolescents' exercise and healthy eating behaviours is poorly understood. In this thesis, social influence is defined as occurring when an individual's thoughts and/or actions are affected by sources, such as parents, friends, and people in the media. However, the processes through which these sources influence individuals are poorly understood. The aim of the research was to explore the impact of social influence upon adolescents' exercise and healthy eating behaviours using a mixed methods approach, specifically exploring any age and gender similarities and/or differences. To achieve this aim, three studies were conducted using differing types of methodology. Study 1 used a Theory of Planned Behaviour based questionnaire, with additional normative measures, to explore adolescents' (overview analyses n = 712, subsequent analyses n = 335) exercise and healthy eating intentions and behaviours. Analysis of the data revealed that there were differences within the age and gender groups, regarding the sources and processes of influence for adolescents' exercise and healthy eating intentions and behaviours. Study 2, a semi-structured interview study, built upon these findings and explored social influences in greater depth (n = 24). Parents were the most influential sources for younger adolescents, and friends for older adolescents. These influences operated through a variety of processes, which were captured by the over-arching themes of encouragement and modelling. Study 3 used Q methodology to further explore adolescents' (n = 60) views of the sources and processes of social influence for exercise and healthy eating. Similarities and differences in views between age and gender groups were again explored. For exercise, there were four understandings of adolescents' views: 'if mum and dad say and do it, I do it too', 'I enjoy it, so I do if, 'you want me to do it, I'll do it', and 'my mother, my role model'. There were also three understandings of adolescents' views for healthy eating: 'parent power - what mum and dad say, goes', 'I do it my way', and 'mother knows best'. The research within this thesis demonstrates that it is important to not only promote healthy ways of thinking and behaving to adolescents as individuals, but to significant others around them. Suitability of the methods used are also evaluated and recommendations made for further research.
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Wood, Kerry V. "The role of social-cognitions and eating behaviours for weight loss." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2012. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.583326.
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The two most common forms of obesity management are currently behavioural and surgical interventions. This research aimed to explore the impact of behavioural and surgical interventions on weight loss outcome and to assess the mechanisms of change involved in this process with a focus on social cognitions, adaptive and maladaptive eating. The thesis consists of three studies which were designed using the Health Action Process Approach model as a theoretical framework. For study one a longitudinal design was adopted and data were collected from individuals undergoing behavioural and surgical weight loss interventions pre-treatment, at three months and six months post-treatment. Part one investigated the differences in social-cognitions between individuals undergoing behavioural and surgical interventions and parts two to four investigated predictors of adaptive and maladaptive eating and their role in weight loss. Building on this, study two used a qualitative design to investigate the long-term experience of patients undergoing surgery for weight loss with a particular focus on eating behaviour. Finally, study three was a Randomised Controlled Trial of a planning prompt to enhance weight reduction in individuals undergoing surgical weight loss interventions. Overall results showed that obese participants having either surgery or behavioural interventions vary along a number of different dimensions and that the roles of eating behaviours for the prediction of weight loss differ in these two populations. Not only does the mode of management influence the success of patient outcomes, but also the changes in the mechanisms necessary to bring about these outcomes. Based on the results of the studies it would seem that when trying to understand weight loss, a single model such as the HAP A although useful for study design, cannot be applied to all populations and that not only do the weightings given to different components vary between populations but also the associations between components and outcomes.
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Randlesome, Katy. "Developing a measure of eating attitudes and behaviours in cystic fibrosis." Thesis, University of London, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.589453.
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Poor nutritional (underweight) status in cystic fibrosis (CF) is associated with poorer health outcomes and ultimately a decreased survival rate. Eating / disorders or disturbances in eating attitudes and behaviours (DEABs) may contribute to poor nutritional status in people with CF. Existing measures of DEABs developed for the general population are unsuitable for use in CF due to the different meaning of some of these items in a CF population and a failure to assess CF-related eating attitudes and behaviours (EABs). This study aimed to develop a measure of EABs likely to be associated with poor nutritional status specifically for the CF population. The study had three parts: firstly, the formal evaluation of a draft CF-eating attitudes and behaviours (CFEAB) measure's content validity via an expert evaluation of the items and a literature review and secondly, the piloting of an amended CFEAB measure with participants with CF using a cognitive interviewing procedure to assess the measure's practical ease of use and understanding. Finally, a further amended CFEAB measure was administered to a large development sample of people with CF attending routine clinics. The final CFEAB measure resulting from this displayed adequate psychometric properties with a three- factor structure ('Eating-Disorders' 'CF-related EAB' (provisionally named) and 'Appetite') with good internal consistencies for the subscales (0.92, 0.84, 0.83) and whole measure (0.90). The final CFEAB measure displayed some initial evidence of construct validity in its relationships with related variables including an existing measure of DEABs. Some ambiguities regarding the interpretation of the CFEAB measure's subscales need to be clarified, as well as further evidence for its construct validity sought, in future studies. The 3 ~ .. ----------------------------------- CFEAB measure looks promising as a tool to highlight disturbances in EABs that will benefit from further assessment and targeted interventions, as appropriate.
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Fisher, Naomi Ruth. "The relationship between mindfulness, emotion regulation, habitual thinking and eating behaviours." Thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, 2014. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/4583/.
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Evidence regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for health-related eating behaviours is emerging. However, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. This thesis presents findings from a series of studies examining the role of two potential mechanisms; extending research into the role of emotion regulation and is the first known research to examine the role of mental habit. A mixed method approach was used to increase understanding about relations between mindfulness (dispositional, experimentally manipulated, and cultivated through practice) and reward motivated eating (RME; uncontrolled and emotional). Chapters one and two provide a review of current literature. Chapter three presents findings from an initial online study in which mediation analyses support the proposition that difficulties in emotion regulation and habitual negative self-thinking are underlying mechanisms in relations between dispositional mindfulness and RME. In addition, participants who engaged in mindfulness meditation reported greater dispositional mindfulness, fewer difficulties in emotion regulation, less habitual negative self-thinking, and uncontrolled or emotional eating. The second study examined mindful induction scripts, a necessary and novel step in clarifying and increasing transparency in the attribution of effects evidenced in experimental settings. The analysis and resultant components informed the development of a Mindful Attention Induction (MAI) used in study three to examine the influence of an MAI on hedonic reactivity to the properties of food. Subjective hunger decreased and fullness increased for the mindfulness group compared to the control group indicating that mindful attention to properties of food can reduce hedonic reactivity, however, the effects were short lived. Importantly, food intake was significantly greater for the control group compared to the mindful group despite, by that point, no subjective differences in craving or appetitive measures. The findings illustrate how a mindful approach cultivated through mindful mediation may influence behavioural change without reliance on translation of intentions into actions. The final study piloted the Mindful Eating Programme, a synthesis of the findings and methods of studies 1-3. Qualitative analyses provides a picture of the process of change, which was often attributed to increased awareness of antecedents to undesired eating tendencies, noticing in the present moment and use of mindfulness practices as a tool to realise change.
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Dobinson, Stuart. "Maladaptive self-reported eating behaviours and attentional bias for food cues." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2013. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/359664/.
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Worldwide rates of obesity have dramatically increased in the last few decades. The impact on those involved and on health care systems continues to be huge. Psychological research has attempted to understand the factors and processes implicated in maladaptive overeating behaviour with the aim of assisting in alleviating it, whether associated with a physical or mental health need. This thesis investigated the relationship between biases in attention to food-related cues and the self-reported eating style known as ‘external eating’ (eating in response to external food cues). A systematic search of the literature found 15 papers that examined the relationship between these factors. These studies used a range of methodologies and found varying results. The literature review established that there is a significant relationship between external eating and attentional bias for food cues, such that higher levels of bias are linked with higher levels of external eating. An experiment was designed to measure attentional bias to food cues in high and low external eaters from a non-clinical population using an antisaccade methodology. This tool measured attentional bias scores for the 39 participants in the two groups. In addition, participants completed a behavioural task of inhibitory control, as well as a range of questionnaire measures concerned with eating behaviour and mental health. With this novel methodology, a significant positive relationship was identified between external eating and attentional bias for food. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical models of attentional bias and maladaptive eating behaviour. Clinical implications are explored and cognitive and behavioural interventions for overeating behaviour are discussed. Future research ideas are suggested with the aim of exploring further the role of eating styles and attentional biases in the development and maintenance of overeating behaviour.
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Solmi, F. "Eating disorders behaviours and diagnoses : epidemiology and comorbidity in the general population." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2014. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1427915/.
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Introduction: Studies investigating prevalence and comorbidity of eating disorders (ED) and disordered eating in large general population samples are limited. This thesis adds to the existing literature by employing general population studies to investigate prevalence and comorbidity of disordered eating and ED in adults and adolescents. Secondary aims were to explore occurrence of ED in relation to ethnicity and patterns of service use. Methods: The studies included in this thesis employed three general population samples of adults (UK) and adolescents (UK and Finland) to cross-sectionally investigate the prevalence of ED and disordered eating, and their comorbidity with several psychiatric conditions. Results: Disordered eating was highly prevalent amongst adults, especially amongst those from an ethnic minority background, and in overweight to obese individuals. Prevalence of ED was in line with previous studies although we found a high prevalence of binge eating disorder and purging disorder amongst older and younger participants, respectively. Use of purging practices was highly prevalent amongst adolescent girls, and was associated with high levels of psychiatric comorbidity. Amongst adults, those diagnosed with purging disorder had the greatest psychiatric comorbidity. Conclusions: High prevalence of disordered eating in the general population, in specific ethnic groups, and in obese individuals, suggests the presence of socio-cultural risk factors for ED. Heightened risk-taking attitudes proper of adolescence could also act as specific risk factors for onset of purging behaviours and other comorbid conditions, such as substance use. Risk trajectories for binge eating disorder in older individuals require further exploration. Results from this thesis highlight the need for comprehensive approaches to treatment and prevention of ED in clinical practice. In the future more longitudinal research in the general population is also encouraged in order to explore the interaction between biological and societal risk factors for the onset of ED and disordered eating.
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Grant, Judith. "Eating behaviours and the workplace : the role of socioeconomic and sociodemographic characteristics." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51895/.
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The overall aim of the research described in this thesis is to explore the role of socioeconomic status (SES) (defined in terms of education, salary, and job grade) and demographic and personal factors (including age, weight, number of dependants, and gender) in relation to the eating behaviours of employees, and to explore barriers and facilitators to healthy eating in the workplace. The purpose of examining these issues in the workplace is to better enable practitioners to develop interventions designed to assist workers in the adoption of healthy eating behaviours. The thesis opens, in Chapter 1, with an introduction to these concepts and consideration of their role in providing a focus for targeted workplace interventions to promote healthy food-related behavioural choices. Chapter 2 shows that the vast majority of academic research on relations between SES and eating behaviours is based on community samples. Little is known about such relations in occupational samples. This is an important knowledge gap because with many people spending more than half of their daily waking hours at work, the workplace represents an ideal location for the promotion of healthy eating choices. In response to the knowledge gap identified above, the overall aim of this investigation is to examine relations between three indices of SES (education, salary band, and grade), plus demographic and personal factors (age, gender, number of dependants, and Body Mass Index (BMI)) and eating behaviours in a large public sector employee sample. Five specific eating behaviours are considered: Consumption of a healthy, well-balanced diet, fruit consumption, vegetable consumption, eating past the point of being full, and cost of food influencing purchasing behaviour. Analyses were carried out on data from the Stormont Study, an organisation-wide health-focused employee survey conducted in 2012 (Time 1) and 2014 (Time 2) in the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS). The Stormont Study methodology is presented in Chapter 3. A descriptive epidemiology based on cross-sectional analyses of data collected at T1 and T2 is presented in Chapter 4. These analyses identified the importance of demographic factors, in addition to the measures of SES in relation to eating behaviours. To explore relations between SES and eating behaviours, cross-sectional, prospective, and longitudinal analysis was carried out in Chapter 5. Relations between SES and eating behaviours were observed in all three analyses – however only grade and education reached significance in the longitudinal analysis. The demographic variables significantly contributed to the statistical model in all three analyses; age and BMI produced consistently significant relationships with nearly all eating behaviours across all three sets of analysis. Chapter 6 explores the extent to which eating behaviours differed between age groups and BMI categories, to understand if interventions may benefit from demographic tailoring for high risk groups. In light of findings from the quantitative studies, and to better inform interventions to improve eating behaviours in the workplace, a qualitative study, in Chapter 7, was conducted in 2017, within a higher SES management group, in a large organisation that had recently been privatised after many decades in public ownership. The findings of the quantitative studies were explored with participants, in addition to asking them to consider the barriers and facilitators to eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, and their perceptions of the role of the employer in promoting healthy eating. Thematic saturation was reached upon completion of 15 interviews. Five main themes were identified, each containing multiple sub-themes: (1) knowledge, (2) behaviour, (3) access, (4) workplace culture and (5) responsibility (government and organisational responsibilities). Workplace culture was seen as a barrier to healthy eating, and therefore initiatives designed to modify work culture may prove effective as a means by which to promote healthy eating in the organisational setting. Chapter 8 considers the research as a whole and the application of findings to workplace health promotion practice. Strengths and limitations of the investigation are discussed and recommendations made for future study.
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Yabsley, Jaime-Lee. "Validation of a Child Version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire – A Psychometric Tool for the Evaluation of Eating Behaviour." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/37977.
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Introduction: Currently, 1 in 7 children are classified as obese, which represents an obesity rate two times higher than that of the last 25 years. Part of the solution to address the positive energy balance underlying weight gain is to target the specific eating behaviours and factors that lead to food intake. One widely used tool to measure eating behaviour is the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ).
Objective: The primary objective of this study was to validate scores of the 21-item Child version of the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ-R21 C), by examining validity evidence and reliability of TFEQ-R21 C responses in a sample of Canadian children and adolescents. The secondary aim was to examine the associations between the TFEQ-R21 C factors and body mass index (BMI) z-scores and food/taste preferences.
Methods: The participants consisted of a sample of 158 children, 63 boys (mean age: 11.5 ± 1.6 years) and 95 girls (mean age: 11.9 ± 1.9 years), recruited from English schools in the Ottawa area. To assess eating behaviour, participants filled out the TFEQ-R21 C, the Power of Food Scale, and the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire. Height and weight measurements were taken using a stadiometer and a digital scale. An exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation and an item analysis were conducted to determine the factor structure and validity of the questionnaire. A median split on Cognitive Restraint (CR), Internal Uncontrolled Eating (UE 1), External Uncontrolled Eating (UE 2), and Emotional Eating (EE) was used to dichotomize factor-based scores into high and low categories for each factor, to allow for group comparisons. Bivariate correlations explored relationships between weight, BMI and BMI z-score, and food and taste preference, by sex and age group. To determine if BMI, BMI z-scores, and food/taste preferences were associated with factor scores of the TFEQ-R21 C, two-way ANOVAs were conducted.
Results: The exploratory factor analysis replicated the Emotional Eating (EE) and Cognitive Restraint (CR) scales of the original TFEQ-R21, whereas the global factor of Uncontrolled Eating (UE) produced two subscales: Internal Uncontrolled Eating (UE 1) and External Uncontrolled Eating (UE 2). Item 17 did not load onto any of the factors and was subsequently removed. The four-factor model, with item 17 removed (FFEQ-R21 C: 20-item Child version Four-Factor Eating Questionnaire), accounted for 41.2% of the common variance in the data and showed good internal consistency (α= 0.81). The factors of UE 1 (r= 0.27, p<0.001), UE 2 (r= 0.36, p<0.0001), and CR (r= 0.20, p= 0.04) correlated significantly with EE. Younger children reported higher UE 1 scores [F(1,143)= 3.99, p=0.048, f2= 0.028] and CR scores [F(1,143)= 3.99, p= 0.001, f2= 0.089]. Boys who reported a high UE 1 scores had a significantly higher weight [F(1,58)= 6.44, p=0.014, f2= 0.117 ] and BMI z-scores [F(1,58)= 4.45, p=0.039, f2=0.083], compared to those who reported low UE 1 scores. Children with overweight or obesity [F(1,143)= 2.75, p<0.001. f2= 0.035] reported higher EE scores, compared to children of normal weight. Children with high UE 1 scores reported greater preference for high protein and fat foods, and high fat savoury (HFSA) and high fat sweet (HFSW) foods, compared to those with low UE 1 scores. Higher preference for high protein, fat, and carbohydrate foods, and HFSA, HFSW, and low fat savoury foods (LFSA) foods was found in children with high UE 2 scores, compared to those with low UR 2 scores. Children and adolescents with low CR scores reported greater preference for high protein, carbohydrate, and fat foods, compared to those who reported high CR scores.
Discussion: This study showed adequate reliability and validity evidence of the TFEQ-R21 C scores, and that the questionnaire is best represented by a 20-item four-factor model in our sample. The FFEQ-R21 C was able to identify relevant eating behaviour traits associated with higher BMI z-scores and food preferences in both sexes and age groups, which were mainly in accordance with previous findings in children and adolescents. These results support the utility of the questionnaire for the assessment and identification of problematic eating behaviour and food preferences in the Canadian pediatric population. Younger children reported higher influence of the psychological constructs of eating behaviour (CR, UE 1, UE 2, and EE), compared to older children. This study provides preliminary evidence that FFEQ-R20 is a reliable and valid self-report tool to measure eating behaviour in children and adolescents to characterize those at higher risk for excess weight. However, further research is needed to examine the validity of the questionnaire in larger samples and in other geographical locations across Canada, as well as the inclusion of extraneous variables such as parental eating behaviour, socioeconomic status, and physical activity levels.
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Foye, Una. "Understanding eating disorders: Exploring the impact of self-esteem, emotional intelligence and health literacy on disordered eating attitudes and behaviours." Thesis, Ulster University, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.665503.
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The aim of this research is to explore the factors that are involved in the development and maintenance of disordered eating attitudes and behaviours. While major strides in research have provided an understanding into the complexity of these disorders, considerable gaps remain with little evidence existing for the effective prevention and treatment of these disorders. The theories of self-esteem, emotional intelligence and health literacy are considered as central themes to understanding the onset and maintenance of these disorders. This study aims to explore these onset and maintenance variables using a mixed methods sequential design. Phase one used a qualitative design conducting a series of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and personal narrative to explore the experiences of individuals with personal or professional experience of eating disorders (n=32). Phase two used a quantitative design to statistically test and model the findings within a large general sample (n=435). The results from this study provide an in-depth qualitative and quantitative exploration of the variables which motivate and maintain disordered eating. These results provide insights into the unique barriers and risk factors which are associated with disordered eating. The results indicate these three variables have considerable impact on the onset and maintenance of disordered eating, with interactions occurring between these variables, suggesting unique pathways towards clinical risk of eating disorder development. This indicates the need to develop holistic interventions that help target programs towards the barriers and factors which maintain an eating disorder. This study provides a unique contribution to the field of eating disorders as it offers new insights into the impact of low self-esteem, emotional intelligence and health literacy as key variables within disordered eating onset and maintenance. It is envisaged that the findings of this study can be used to inform and further develop intervention areas to promote positive, and timelier, interventions.
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Houldcroft, Laura. "Peer and friend influences on eating behaviour in school children." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2015. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/17380.
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Currently there is limited research addressing the eating behaviours of preadolescent children, despite evidence suggesting that friends and peers may contribute to the developing eating attitudes and behaviours of children of this age. Eating behaviours in terms of this thesis include both under- and over- eating behaviours, with a specific focus on the under-eating behaviour, dietary restraint, and the over-eating behaviours emotional eating and external eating. The fundamental aim of this thesis was to examine friend and peer influences on children s eating behaviours, with a specific focus on a community sample of preadolescent children. Based on links established in the literature between childhood eating behaviours (dietary restraint, emotional eating and external eating) and parental controlling feeding practices (pressure to eat and restriction) and childhood symptoms of anxiety and depression, these factors were also considered alongside the contribution of friends and peers, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The longitudinal stability and continuity of self-reported eating behaviours and perceived parental feeding practices in preadolescent children were also examined in this thesis. A pilot study and experimental study provided an objective measure of children s snack food intake following a school lunchtime, when offered a selection (healthy and unhealthy) of snack foods in the presence of friends and peers. Links between food intake in the presence of friends and peers, and self-reported eating behaviours, parental controlling feeding practices, child symptoms of anxiety and depression and BMI were further explored. The research in this thesis suggests that friends dieting behaviours predict individual children s dieting behaviours, and also highlights links between problematic eating and anxiety in preadolescent children. Parental controlling feeding practices were found to have a negative impact on preadolescents eating behaviours and were also found to be potentially linked to the development or maintenance of anxiety and depression symptoms in children of this age. Preadolescents reports of eating behaviours and perceptions of the controlling feeding practices their parents utilised with them were stable over time, but, with the exception of restriction, lacked continuity. Dietary restraint, emotional eating and external eating decreased over a 12 month period. While some of the research in this thesis requires replication, the results present many novel and interesting findings. Using longitudinal and experimental data, the research reported on in this thesis highlights the important contributions of friends, peers, parents and individual anxiety and low mood to the eating attitudes and behaviours of preadolescent aged children.
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Cassola, Daniela. "Perceived stress, coping and eating behaviours in Maltese adolescents : developing an effective online intervention." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/3053.
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Prevalence rates of overweight and obesity in Maltese adolescents are amongst the highest in the world. Stress-induced eating and dysfunctional coping skills have been linked to overeating and obesity. This study was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 examined the relationship between perceived stress, coping and eating behaviours in Maltese adolescents and devised a model to guide the development of an effective Internet-based intervention. Based on the findings, Phase 2 developed ACES – a novel online intervention for the reduction of perceived stress and emotional eating in Maltese adolescents – and assessed its feasibility. In Phase 1, cross-sectional data were gathered from 79 Maltese adolescents using an online questionnaire with 6 self-report measures examining perceived stress, coping responses, eating behaviours, self-efficacy, physical exercise and social support. Findings suggested that emotional eating behaviours can be decreased by reducing perceived stress and dysfunctional coping strategies (self-controlling and escape-avoidance) and increasing self-efficacy and functional coping strategies (seeking social support and planful problem solving). In Phase 2, ACES was developed and a feasibility study, with a one-group pretest-posttest design, carried out to assess the functionality, usability, perceived utility and acceptability of ACES and to test the design of a definitive randomized controlled trial. Forty-six out of 125 participants completed ACES. Findings suggested that ACES is feasible and well-received by participants. Preliminary effectiveness results provide additional support for the Phase 1 findings concerning the variables that need to be taken into account to decrease emotional eating behaviours. This study has made significant contributions to the literature and offered insights into specific functional and dysfunctional coping strategies impacting perceived stress and eating behaviours. It has produced an online intervention, which is a feasible avenue for the reduction of perceived stress and emotional eating, that could be built upon by practitioners and researchers, with potential implications for obesity prevention.
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Smith, Rachel K. "Eating attitudes and behaviours in young people with or without a diabetic sibling." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/2645.
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Objectives: Body image concerns and problematic eating attitudes and behaviours are recognised as an important concern for young people and clinicians. Identification of groups that might be at risk of developing such problems would enable prevention and early implementation strategies to be implemented. The aim of this study was to explore body image concerns and eating attitudes and behaviours in a community sample of young people aged between 12 and 17 years. Design & Method: A cross sectional between groups design was employed. Participants completed self-report assessments measuring attitudes to body shape and weight, eating attitudes, behavioural features of eating disorders and eating disorder psychopathology. Siblings of young people with type 1 diabetes (n=12) were compared to a matched control group (n=12). Comparisons were also made between males and females and between age groups in a community sample (n=75). Results: Compared with females without a diabetic sibling, females with a diabetic sibling reported more concerns about body weight and shape, greater disturbance in eating attitudes, and significantly higher levels of eating disorder psychopathology. Within the community sample, concerns about body shape and weight and disturbed eating attitudes were significantly higher in females than in males. The results highlighted a high prevalence of excessive exercise behaviour in both males and females. Excessive exercise was the only variable to differ significantly between age groups, with the highest prevalence reported in those aged 14 and 15 years. Conclusions: The findings provide tentative support for the hypothesis that siblings of young people with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of disturbed eating attitudes and behaviours, but require replication in a larger sample. Methodological implications of the study and suggestions for further research are discussed.
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Goldberg, Jacqueline. "Exercise, eating behaviours and the construction of women's self-concept : an integrated approach." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390138.
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Aljaaly, E. A. M. "Factors affecting nutritional status and eating behaviours of adolescent girls in Saudi Arabia." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2012. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1370576/.
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The objective of this study is to find out whether a reduction in body weight will reduce health risk factors. To fulfil this objective an intervention study has been conducted among Saudi obese females in the childbearing age (18-45). Interview questionnaires were completed in the intervention and non-intervention group to collect baseline data; the intervention group has undergone a specific diet regimen, physical exercise and nutrition programme. Vital signs including heart rate (PS) and blood pressure (BP) for both groups were recorded at the beginning of the study and after the intervention. Blood biochemical investigations were conducted between both groups at the beginning of the study and after the intervention. Data was analysed using SPSS (version 10). Results showed that baseline data of both intervention and non-intervention group were similar in relation to anthropometrics measurements and BMI. A significant difference was found at day 60 between the intervention and non-intervention group in weight and BMI. Analysis of biochemical variables showed insignificant statistical differences at day -60 in total cholesterol, LDL, and FBS. A statistical difference was found between the intervention and non-intervention group at day-60 in relation to the studied vital signs, systolic and diastolic BP A remarkable change in participants’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices was observed among the intervention group between day-1 and day-60. For example being a yo-yo dieter was reported by 85.2% of the group in day-1 and by 14.81% in day-60 and eating outside was reported by 81.5% in day-1 and by 18.5% in day-60. In conclusions, the use of a combined intervention programme of diet, physical exercise and health education is effective in weight reduction. Regular assessment of vital signs (PS and BP), biochemical laboratory investigations (CHOL, HDL, LDL, TG and FBS) are feasible tools for follow up and early detection of obesity complications. A sustained reduction in body weight is one of the preventive measures to avoid obesity complications. Despite the efforts done during this study, some limitations such as the small sample size and the short duration of intervention can be considered.
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Peterson, Vanessa Margaret, and res cand@acu edu au. "Body Image and Dieting Behaviours: a Study of athletes and non-athletes." Australian Catholic University. School of Exercise Science, 2003. http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/digitaltheses/public/adt-acuvp38.29082005.
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Research has shown that elite female athletes competing in competitive sports may experience weight consciousness and face demands to conform to unrealistic standards of body weight. The purpose of this research was to investigate body image and dieting behaviours in adolescent female athletes and non-athletes. A self-reporting questionnaire was administered to 60 athletes aged between 13-16 years derived from eight different sporting populations, and a control group consisting of 60 non-athletes or inactive individuals aged between 13-16 years. Two major areas relating to weight and eating behaviours were examined: disordered eating and distorted body image. Other variables under investigation included current attempts at weight loss, level of acceptance of thin female stereotypes promoted by the media, reasons for dieting, and perception of one’s own body image. Results indicated that the majority of the athletes displayed a positive body image and were generally happy with their overall body shape. This group was less likely to employ weight loss behaviours. However, the non-athletes were more likely to display distorted body image and distorted eating behaviours. Consistent with the cultural expectations of thinness, large proportions of the non-athletes wished to lose weight, even though their actual weight (i.e. Body Mass Index) was normal or underweight. Weight concerns in the non-athlete group related more to attaining a media driven “ideal” of femininity. The weight concerns recorded amongst a small number of athletes were related more to improving sporting performance. Although no clinically diagnosed cases of eating disorders were recorded, eating behaviours, weight reduction practices and body image beliefs indicated that the adolescent female non-athletes may be at risk of developing disordered eating and body image problems.
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Talwar, Ruchika. "Correlates and Predictors of Dysfunctional Eating Attitudes and Behaviours in a Non-clinical New Zealand Female Sample." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Psychology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2652.
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Eating disorders are among the most common psychological problems faced by women. Perfectionism, impulsivity and poor self-esteem have been identified as significant risk factors for the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Further, elevated body mass
has been found to amplify the effect of these risk factors on the development of eating pathology. However, although the symptoms associated with eating disorders have been theorised to lie on a continuum with frank eating disorders at one end and normative eating concerns at the other, there is limited research and findings are mixed about the correlates and predictors of dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours in non-clinical populations. The present research contributes to a clearer understanding of risk factors associated with
dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours in non-clinical populations. Correlational analyses in the present study indicated that dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours are associated with increased perfectionism, lowered self-esteem and elevated body mass. Regression analyses identified body dissatisfaction as a significant predictor of bulimic symptomatology. Further research is needed to extend these results. The current study found
that dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviours occur in non-clinical populations and are associated with similar risk factors to those associated with eating pathology in clinical populations. Further, it advocates the need for early detection and intervention of eating
disturbances in at risk non-clinical samples, particularly in relation to body image dissatisfaction. Finally, it highlights the need for further research focussing on non-clinical
samples in order to more clearly understand the correlates and predictors of dysfunctional
eating attitudes and behaviours in these populations.
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Hardie, Alison. "Eating disorders, body image and weight control life orientation teachers' knowledge, attitudes and behaviours." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/394.
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The apparent increase in the incidence of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa worldwide has resulted in a surge of interest in effective treatment, prevention programmes and health promotion. Health promotion and the primary prevention of eating and body image problems among young people, and in particular adolescents, is emerging as one of the most desirable achievements in contemporary health and nutrition education. Eating disorders usually have their origin during the teenage years, and as such, high schools provide useful sites for the implementation of prevention programmes. Educators can play an important role in the prevention of eating disorders and act as socialization agents who either reinforce or buffer the dominant societal discourses that shape young women’s views of themselves. There are calls, however, for caution in the design and implementation of school-based eating disorder curricula as school educators may inadvertently do more harm than good. It has also been suggested that female educators, as other women, are likely to possess a degree of normative discontent with their body shape and size, and that this dissatisfaction and negative beliefs about food may be unknowingly transferred to the learners within their care. The current study used an exploratory, descriptive research design to investigate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to eating disorders, body image and weight control of a group of Life Orientation educators. A biographical questionnaire, a questionnaire designed for the purposes of the current research and two standardised paper-and-pencil questionnaires, namely the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), were administered to 50 female Life Orientation educators in the Nelson Mandela Metropole. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used in the selection of participants and descriptive statistics were used to explore and describe the data. The results of the current research study indicated a lack of knowledge in those Life Orientation educators assessed regarding eating disorders and healthy diet. The results also indicated inaccurate knowledge amongst those educators assessed regarding effective and safe teaching practices of eating disorder pathology. The results of the two standardised questionnaires reflected an internalisation of the dominant societal ideals regarding weight and body shape, with 18% of the sample xi demonstrating attitudes and behaviours that could be indicative of eating disorder pathology of either clinical or subclinical proportions. Suggestions were made regarding future research and the need for further training of Life Orientation educators. Finally, the limitations as well as the value of the research were outlined.
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Davies, Kirsty Mary. "Individual differences in eating behaviours and their relationship with motivation, cognition and weight control." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2018. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/275021.
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A considerable percentage of the UK population are overweight (BMI≥25kg/m2) or obese (BMI≥30kg/m2). However, despite living in the same culture and exposed to a similar “obesogenic” environment, some individuals gain weight while others do not (French et al., 1995). This variability in weight control has been suggested to be associated with individual differences in eating behaviours (French et al., 2012). Certain factors, such as motivation (hedonic hunger and hunger status) as well as cognition (impulsivity and memory) may have an impact on eating behaviours and their relationship with weight control. Thus, the objective of this thesis was to explore individual differences in eating behaviours and investigate their relationship with motivation, cognition and weight control. The first experiment (Chapter 2) investigated the relationship between eating behaviours, motivation (hedonic hunger) and food consumption during an ad-libitum buffet. This study suggests that restrained eating behaviour was associated with higher overall energy intake, greater energy intake from unhealthy foods and greater energy intake from both high and low energy dense foods. However, no interactions between restraint and disinhibition or hedonic hunger was seen. Following this, the second experiment (Chapter 3) examined whether eating behaviours, such as disinhibition, restraint and hunger, change during a weight loss and weight maintenance period and whether they could predict changes in weight during these periods. Indeed, the results suggest that lower baseline restraint could predict greater weight loss during a low-energy liquid diet and interventions which increase restraint and decrease disinhibition may be beneficial for longer term weight maintenance. The third experiment (Chapter 4) was designed to investigate whether motivation and cognition influences eating behaviours. The results suggest that hedonic hunger, restraint and impulsivity may lead to higher levels of disinhibited eating behaviour. This study was also able to replicate the findings of previous literature suggesting that episodic memory is negatively associated with BMI (Cheke et al., 2016). Finally, following on from the previous study results, the fourth experiment (Chapter 5) included a more diverse sample of participants including dieters. The results provide evidence that individuals on a diet have poorer episodic memory ability than those currently not on a diet. This study also extended previous results suggesting that hedonic hunger (but also episodic memory and hunger) are important factors in disinhibited eating. Hedonic hunger was also shown to be important in levels of hunger.
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Swancott, Rachel Louise. "Effects of similarities in therapy : an exploration of changes to therapists' body image and eating behaviours when working with clients with an eating disorder." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/11054.
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Part one: Literature review - Objective: Similarities between patients and their therapist may facilitate engagement in therapy. The literature review critically appraised the evidence that sex matching between children and adolescents and their therapists influenced therapy. Method: A systematic search yielded 16 papers that were then critically appraised. Results: Findings were categorised into three areas: client preferences for a sex matched counsellor; the effects of sex matching during therapy; and the effects of sex matching on outcomes of therapy. A fairly consistent finding was that female clients preferred a female counsellor. Conclusions: Sex matching between children and adolescents and their therapist has limited predictive value in therapy process and outcome. Future research may be better focused whether on client preferences to affect treatment uptake. Part two: Research report - Introduction: Similarities between female therapists and their patients in eating disorder services may impact on the therapist. Previous research has suggested that therapists and other professionals can experience changes to their body image and eating behaviours whilst working in eating disorder services. Little is known about what sense therapist make of these changes. Method: Semi-structured interviews were completed with eight clinical psychologists. Findings were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. Results: Four super-ordinate themes emerged from the data: affirming one’s identity’; ‘close knit team’; ‘protecting oneself’; and ‘being influenced’. These related to participants professional identity and how they interpreted the changes in their body image and eating behaviours. Conclusions: Findings indicated that the participants made sense of the changes to their body image and eating behaviours in different ways. The way the changes were perceived and discussed as a team was likely to have influenced how participants felt in the working environment. Part three: Critical appraisal - The critical appraisal is a reflective account of the experiences encountered during the research process.
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Landry, Marie Gisèle. "Development of an instrument to assess parental strategies for altering children's eating and mealtime behaviours." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/tape15/PQDD_0014/MQ38390.pdf.
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Landry, Marie Gisele. "Development of an instrument to assess parental strategies for altering children's eating and mealtime behaviours." Thesis, University of New Brunswick, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/1882/895.
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Kauder, Natalie Louise. "Reciprocal attachments and hierarchies of attachment figures in females with tendencies towards eating disordered behaviours." Thesis, University of Essex, 2011. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.548574.
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Kliemann, N. "The impact of eating self-regulatory skills on weight control and dietary behaviours in adults." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2017. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10027860/.
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Recent studies suggest the ability to self-regulate eating behaviour may help people to cope with the food environment and achieve, as well as maintain, a healthy weight and diet. However, most studies exploring the relationships between eating self-regulatory skills, weight control and dietary habits in adults have used a cross-sectional design and have not accounted for the full range of eating self-regulatory skills, possibly due to the fact that no comprehensive measure of eating self-regulation exists. Furthermore, although there are indications that eating self-regulatory skills may be enhanced through practice, the most effective way to improve these skills and the impact of any changes on weight loss and dietary behaviours has not been established. Therefore, this PhD thesis developed a valid and reliable measure to assess eating self-regulatory skills in the general adult population (Study 1). Results from Study 2 showed that higher eating self-regulatory skills may help students to maintain or achieve a healthy diet and protect them against substantial weight gain (≥5% initial body weight), especially among students with higher BMIs. In Study 3, secondary analysis from the 10 Top Tips (10TT) randomised controlled trial was undertaken to test the effect of a habit-based intervention on eating self-regulatory skills. Results showed 10TT promoted greater increases in self-regulatory skills than Usual Care. Furthermore, these changes in self-regulatory skills mediated the effect of 10TT on target behaviours and weight loss. Lastly, since the use of new technology for lifestyle interventions is an emerging field in public health, two app versions of 10TT, one identical to 10TT (Top Tips ‘only’ app) and another including a self-regulatory training component for breaking unhealthy eating habits (Top Tips ‘plus’ app), were developed and piloted with overweight and obese adults (Study 4). Exploratory results from Study 4 suggest that both app interventions may promote eating self-regulatory skills, weight loss and healthy behaviours among overweight and obese adults, especially among those more engaged with the apps. However, both apps would benefit from further development work and should be evaluated by means of a randomised controlled trial.
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Frank, Jeremy. "Gender role socialized behaviours and attitudes as predictors of eating pathology in an undergraduate female sample." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0013/MQ52549.pdf.
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Eliott, Jaklin. "Achievement motivation : its role in the incidence of extreme eating behaviours in female modern dance students /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 1994. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09ARPS/09arpse42.pdf.
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Buccheri, Nicola Jane. "Long-term consequences of gastric bypass surgery : a qualitative exploration of patients' eating patterns and behaviours." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/11043.
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Obesity is a growing problem throughout the world and accompanies many physical and psychological issues. Increasingly Bariatric Surgery is being turned to as a means of losing weight, often after many failed attempts to use diet and exercise. The focus of this project is on the experiences of patients who opt for Bariatric Surgery. The literature review explored the qualitative studies on experiences after Bariatric Surgery. It adopted a Narrative Synthesis approach and the findings were analysed for themes. A total of twelve papers were included and three main themes emerged. They were titled “Transformation”, “Adjustment & Coping” and “The Paradoxes”. The review highlighted clinical recommendations regarding patients unmet needs after surgery and suggested topics for further research. The research report explored the longer term experiences of patients who had undergone Gastric Bypass Surgery (GBS), which is a frequently used procedure for weight loss. The study utilised Grounded Theory techniques to collect and analyse the data. Seventeen participants were interviewed, all of whom had undergone GBS three to eight years ago. A core category titled “The Battle for Control” was found to permeate the majority of experiences pre and post surgery. A theoretical model was devised to propose factors that enabled the participants to develop self-control after surgery, such as viewing the bypass as a tool and learning to self monitor. It also outlined circumstances that impeded this process, such as finding ways to cheat the bypass. Issues relating to food addiction and body image also emerged from the data. The findings are discussed in relation to existing literature, along with theories relating to self-efficacy and locus of control. Further recommendations for clinical practice and research are also given. The critical appraisal is a reflective, personal account that discusses some of the important issues relating to quality in qualitative research.
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Ashter, Suzanne. "Weight changes : the meaning of food and eating behaviours amongst women in recovery from substance addiction." Thesis, London Metropolitan University, 2014. http://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/713/.
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During the period of recovery from drug and alcohol misuse the individual starts to move gradually away from former habits and patterns of thinking whilst learning new skills, however returning to a normal diet can be challenging for many recovering substance misusers. Studies involving substance misuse have mainly focused on weight changes and eating behaviours during active substance addiction, whilst research on how substance misusers experience weight changes and how they describe the functions and meaning of food and eating behaviours in recovery from substance addiction is scarce. This is a qualitative study using a constructivist grounded theory approach which aimed to explicate the experiences of food, eating and weight changes from eight women in different stages of recovery (ranging from early, mid and late recovery) from drug and alcohol addiction. The areas identified from ‘the meaning of food’ included: substituting alcohol with food, structure and social benefits. The areas identified from ‘weight changes’ included: weight gain and weight loss, and the areas identified from ‘eating behaviours’ included: distorted eating and dieting. The findings lead to an emerging theory that indicated: ‘Food during recovery involved providing structure to the day, enjoyment of social eating and substituting alcohol with food, particularly sugar rich foods during early recovery to 1. Replace the substances by filling a void, 2. Satisfy the cravings and urges experienced from the substances and 3. Experience a change in mood. The excessive intake of sugar rich food caused weight gain and in turn resulted in dieting and distorted eating behaviours later in recovery’. The theory that emerged from this research should prove useful to substance misuse facilities in order to enhance and incorporate nutrition education into treatment programmes to address food, eating and weight issues faced by women in recovery from substance addiction.
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Carney, Tara. "I want to look like that : the role of ideal-type media in disordered eating behaviours." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11800.
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Bibliography: leaves 129-139.The relationship between media exposure and disordered eating disordered behaviours is not without complexity and contestation in the existing literature. Much knowledge of this relationship in a sample of South African university students, who could be expected to have reasonably high levels of media exposure. It examined the relationship via both quantitative and qualitative methods. In the quantitative part, 222 second-year psychology students at the University of Cape Town completed the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT -26). Analyses of the EAT-26 scores and demographic variables using multiple regression showed that both the sex subjects (ß=0.23, p<0.001) and their levels of media exposure (ß=0.17, p<0.001) were significantly related to a higher risk of the development of symptoms of anorexia nervosa.
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Russell, Basil. "Eating attitudes and behaviours in a diverse group of high school students in the Western Cape." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/3588.
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Bibliography: leaves 76-90.A total of 813 male and female high school students in the Western Cape between grades 10 and 12 completed a questionnaire survey on their eating attitudes and behaviours. The mean age for the sample was 16.77 years. The survey included a Demographic Questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh (BITE), the Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns Revised (QEWP-R) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.
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Potter, Christina Marie. "Investigating the roles of learned eating behaviours and beliefs in promoting obesity in children and adults." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2017. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.738220.
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Kupeli, Nuriye. "Stress, affect systems and eating pathology in problematic weight regulation." Thesis, University of Hertfordshire, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2299/15438.
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Problematic weight regulation as found in obesity and Anorexia Nervosa (AN) are chronic conditions which require long-term management. In order to develop long-term strategies to manage these conditions, a clearer understanding of the factors that can contribute to the development and also recovery from these conditions are a necessity. Although obesity and AN are at the opposite end of the bodyweight spectrum, some shared psychological processes may drive these states. One factor that has been suggested to contribute to problematic weight regulation is psychosocial stress whilst positive affect systems and affect regulation processes are important for regulating stress-related experiences. Gilbert (2005) describes an affect regulation system which consists of two positive affect systems known as social rank and attachment. Whilst the latter affect system refers to the attachment bond that develops between an infant and its caregiver (which extends to adult relationships), the former is used to form relationships that allow us to compete for limited resources and maintain our status in the social environment. Affect regulation processes in the current research are self-criticism and self-reassurance. Whilst self-critical thoughts and feelings can be triggered by perceptions of being low rank, the idea that people can be self-reassuring or being able to self-reassure at times of difficulty is nested in the positive infant-caregiver attachment bond and a consequence of internalizing parental soothing (Gilbert, 2006). Hence, as stress is suggested to be an important factor in problematic weight regulation and affect systems and processes are central to the regulation of emotional responses to stress-related experiences, the current series of studies examined these factors in relation to problematic weight regulation. The current research consisted of four studies designed to examine the role of stress and affect regulation in relation to weight change, weight regain following weight loss and recovery versus symptom maintenance in AN in women. A longitudinal study (Study One) was conducted to examine the change trajectories of stress, eating pathology and bodyweight, how these changes influence each other and the role of affect regulation systems and processes on these changes in a community based sample (N = 1157). Study Two examined the role of stress and affect regulation as predictors of weight regain in those who have lost weight (N = 42) and Study Three used a measure of life events and difficulties to investigate the role of stressful life changes and affect systems on recovery and relapse following AN (N = 30). Finally, in Study four, an expressive writing task which has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on stress-related health outcomes was used to explore the role of stress, affect systems and processes on problematic weight regulation and eating at times of stress (N = 57). The findings of the research studies demonstrated that there is a concurrent link between stress and the regulation of bodyweight and eating in a community-based sample of women. However, the proposed relationship between stress, bodyweight and eating behaviours was not confirmed when examined longitudinally in a community-based sample, over a 7-month period in women who have lost weight or when examined retrospectively as contributing to symptom maintenance in women with AN. However, the main finding of the current series of studies suggested that affect systems and affect regulation processes do have important implications for regulating stress-related experiences, bodyweight and eating behaviours. Perceived low social status, greater insecurity of attachment, more self-critical and less self-reassuring thoughts and feelings were related to increases in stress levels, higher bodyweight and higher levels of dysfunctional eating patterns. In addition, whilst expressive writing did not reduce stress, influence bodyweight or improve affect regulation at times of difficulty, writing about positive experiences had a positive impact on reducing dietary restraint behaviours during a stressful period. In conclusion, these findings suggest that it may not be stress per se that contributes to unhealthy changes in bodyweight and eating behaviours but how we use our affect systems and processes to manage our emotions at times of difficulty. Consequently, these findings have important implications for practice as weight loss programmes, Eating Disorder prevention programmes and stress management interventions should address the issues of perceived low social status, self-criticism and attachment insecurities.
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Coyne, Lucy C., and n/a. "The Relationship Between Sociocultural Influences and Disordered Eating Behaviours: Age-Related Differences in an Integrated Theoretical Model." Griffith University. School of Psychology, 2007. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20071114.081853.
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This thesis contributes to a growing body of research examining the relationship between sociocultural influences and disordered eating behaviour. The aim of the current research was to extend on previously developed theoretical models to more closely examine agerelated differences in an integrated sociocultural model of disordered eating behaviour. The proposed model was informed by components of the dual-pathway model and the tripartite influence model. Nine-hundred and ninety-five women, from four different age groups (i.e., preadolescent, early adolescent, late adolescent and young adult), completed self-report measures of perceived pressure to be thin, modelling of disordered eating behaviour, media exposure, internalisation of the thin-ideal, social comparison, body dissatisfaction, body mass index, and disordered eating behaviour. Using structural equation modelling (SEM) techniques, a sociocultural model of disordered eating was tested and found to have good fit to the data. A number of age-related differences in the strength of the relationship between variables were found. Interestingly, modelling of disordered eating behaviour was a direct predictor of disordered eating behaviour regardless of age group. As expected internalisation of the thin-ideal mediated between perceived pressure to be thin and body dissatisfaction for all age groups. Surprisingly, media exposure had few effects on internalisation, but was more strongly related to social comparison for the late adolescent and young adult age groups. Social comparison played a less significant role in predicting body dissatisfaction in preadolescent girls. However, for all other participants, social comparison predicted internalisation of the thin-ideal, body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviour. As expected, BMI predicted body dissatisfaction, and body dissatisfaction predicted disordered eating behaviour. The models accounted for between 60-64% of the variance in disordered eating behaviour. Implications for prevention programs are discussed in light of these findings.