A 2-year longitudinal study of eating attitudes, BMI, perfectionism, asceticism and family climate in adolescent girls and their parents

Abstract

The aim of this longitudinal study of 383 Swedish adolescent girls (11 and 13 years old at year 1) and their parents was to examine changes in eating attitudes over a two-year period, and to investigate the predictive value of eating attitudes, perfectionism, asceticism, family climate and body mass index (BMI) for the development of disturbed eating attitudes. The following self-report questionnaires were used: Children's Eating Attitudes test, Eating Attitudes Test, Eating Disorder Inventory for Children, Eating Disorder Inventory 2, I Think I Am and The Family Climate. The frequency of disturbed eating attitudes increased with increased age in the girls. Children's eating attitudes, higher BMI than peers, the girls rating of a less healthy relation to family and their fathers' eating attitudes at year 1 contributed most to the prediction of disturbed eating attitudes for the girls 2 years later. The results suggest that early signs of disturbed eating attitudes and higher BMI than peers may be important predictors for the development of more serious eating disturbances among adolescent girls.