School milieu characteristics and disordered eating in high school graduates

Abstract

Research has confirmed a relationship between our culture's emphasis on thinness, and disordered eating. The present study sought to expand our understanding of the relationship between sociocultural variables and disordered eating. It hypothesized that students from high schools that encourage competitiveness, value traditional feminine behaviors and conformity to traditional norms, and discourage social support and interpersonal involvements among students are particularly likely to report symptoms of disordered eating and related psychopathology. Social climate measures, an abbreviated Eating Disorders Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale were completed by 211 female high school graduates recruited among the incoming students of two U.S. campuses. The hypothesis of elevated scores on measures of disordered eating among females from schools perceived as emphasizing competitiveness and traditional feminine and dependent behaviors was not confirmed. Results, however, suggested a modest relationship between perception of the high school as low in social involvement and feelings of ineffectiveness and loneliness.