Biological, Contextual and Psychological Correlates of Exercise Dependence among Female Track and Field Athletes

Abstract

Despite the recent proliferation of research examining biological correlates of eating disorder risk among female aesthetic sport athletes, little is known about track and field athletes. PURPOSE: To examine biological, psychological and contextual correlates of exercise dependence (EXD). METHODS: Division I and II collegiate athletes (N = 282), ages 17 to 26 (M= 20.19± 2.55) representing 5 contexts (sprinters, lean field events, non-lean field events, distance running, multi event) completed the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS), Exercise Dependence scale, Stunkard silhouettes, and self-reported height, weight, and age at menarche. Body image (BI) discrepancy (current -ideal silhouette scores) and body image distortion (BMI- current silhouette scores) were calculated for daily clothing (DC) and uniform (U). RESULTS: Paired sample t-tests on discrepancy scores indicated track and field athletes' ideal BI was lower than their current BI in both DC and U (p<.001). ANOVA indicated athletes in non-lean field events reported higher DC and U distortion scores than athletes from all other groups; non-lean field events reported higher discrepancy scores in DC and U than sprinters and non-lean field athletes who were higher than lean field events and distance runners. Multi event athletes reported highest SPA, and along with distance runners, the highest Lack of Control, Reduction in other Activities, and Time, EXD subscales (p <.05). Quasi-hierarchical regression controlling for BMI and pubertal timing indicated SPA (18.9%) and U distortion (1.9%) explained 19.5% of EXD variance. Biological variables were not significant predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Like in the disordered eating literature, SPA is the strongest predictor of EXD. Track and field athletes do not appear to be a homogenous group based on the event type variability in BI distortion, discrepancy, SPA and EXD subscales. Surprisingly, BI appears to be a greater concern for non-lean field event athletes and not those in lean sports suggesting cultural ideals may be conflicting with the physique necessary for elite performance in non-lean field events. In contrast, distance runners appear to be at greatest risk for SPA and three of the seven EXD scales. Practitioners should recognize these variations when consulting with track and field athletes.