Prospective changes in disordered eating and body dissatisfaction across women's first year of college: The relative contributions of sociocultural and college adjustment risk factors

Abstract

Sociocultural models have consistently been used to explain the etiology of disordered eating (DE) and body dissatisfaction (BD) among female college students, but less is known about how college adjustment factors, such as missing friends from home and stress about academic performance, relate to the progression of female students' DE and BD during the transition into college. The present study examined changes in DE thoughts and BD during the first year of college by merging the college adjustment and DE fields to evaluate the comparative impact of the two areas of research. Female undergraduates (N = 119) reported on DE risk factors, college adjustment factors, DE thoughts, and BD during their first (Time 1) and second (Time 2) semesters of college. Hierarchical regressions controlling for Time 1 outcome variables found that perceived stress at Time 1 enhanced the prediction of increases in DE severity beyond DE risk factors alone, suggesting that efforts targeted at making the transition to college easier may assist in decreasing DE severity for young women.