YOUNG WOMEN'S DISORDERED EATING AND DRUG USE: DO MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS DIFFER? 1668

Abstract

Adolescent girls have a high prevalence of disordered eating and use of laxatives and diuretics. The natural history of the development of these behaviors is not well defined. We surveyed 867 middle and 1218 high school aged female adolescents, using a 118-item questionnaire. Our survey combined established correlates of disordered eating and drug use with risk factors in the domains of personal variables: knowledge, skills, beliefs, psychological factors and demographics; peer effects; and non-peer influences of parents, media and society. Middle and high school groups were similar on many items: prevalence use of tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, diet pills and self-induced vomiting; use of diet supplements and vitamins; and intent toward future disordered eating and drug use. The younger girls, however, had less knowledge of adverse effects from disordered eating and drug use (p<0.001), lower perceived prevalence of these behaviors among peers (p<0.001), less belief in the media (p<0.001) and less belief that smoking helps control weight(p<0.001). These findings of comparable prevalence rates for drug use and disordered eating are concerning and underscore the need for effective programs to combat these unhealthy behaviors at a young age. While prevention programs for high school girls may be too late to deter experimentation with unhealthy eating behaviors and drug use, for younger girls, certain critical knowledge items and attitudes are not yet firmly established. Including these items as components of a drug prevention program may result in interventions that effectively prevent initiation and continuation of disordered eating and drug use.