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Athletes may be at increased risk for developing disordered eating and pathogenic weight control behaviors due to pressure for their bodies to look a certain way and perform at a high level (Sundgot-Borgen & Torstveit, 2004). Petrie and Greenleaf (2013) proposed a psychosocial model to explain the development of athletes’ disordered eating behaviors. Specifically, they suggested that unique weight/body pressures of the sport environment, general societal pressures about attractiveness, internalization of societal appearance ideals, body dissatisfaction, drive for muscularity, negative affect, and dietary restraint combine and contribute to the development of bulimic symptomatology. The aim of the current study is to test the Petrie and Greenleaf model in a large, nation-wide, diverse sample of male collegiate athletes. Participants were male collegiate athletes (N = 731; Mage = 19.91, SD = 1.50) representing 17 sports and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisions I, II, and III. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and measures designed to assess their experiences of the above constructs. Structural equation modeling was used to test the pathways proposed in the Petrie and Greenleaf (2013) etiological model. Results suggest that sport pressures, such as those from coaches and teammates about weight, the importance of appearance, and looking good in a uniform, are significant factors in understanding disordered eating among male collegiate athletes. These pressures were related directly to all other variables in the model, including increased body dissatisfaction, experiencing more negative emotions, restricting caloric intake, and engaging in behaviors to increase muscularity. In the end, it was these variables – negative affect, drive for muscularity, dietary restraint, and body dissatisfaction– that explained over 30% of the variance in the athletes’ bulimic symptomatology.

The eating disorder literature has long suggested that sociocultural experiences specific to women influence development of bulimic pathology; however, models have differed on the type of experiences that are important and what other variables interact with these experiences to lead to eating pathology. Broader sociocultural theory and objectification theory represent two such differing models, and more recently Moradi hypothesized that integrating elements from both models would provide a better picture of eating disorder development. The present study, therefore, sought to compare these three different models of bulimic pathology development to determine which one provides the best explanation for bulimic outcomes. The sample consisted of 682 undergraduate women between the ages of 18 and 24, recruited from a large southwestern university. Data were collected on-line using a series of questionnaires to measure the constructs of interest and analyzed using structural equation modeling. All three models fit the data well and explained approximately 50% of bulimic outcomes; however, the model based on Moradi’s integrated model provided the most information about the relationships between constructs within the model. The development of bulimic symptomatology appears best explained by a model that focuses on the sociocultural experience of pressures about weight and body size, but also integrates aspects of objectification theory as well. Future research, however, is needed to determine if sexually objectifying experiences, if measured differently, affect women’s development of eating pathology along with pressures.

Public health campaigns might not be universally helpful and could have detrimental consequences. The current investigation explored the effects of obesity prevention campaigns. Their impact was assessed using an experiment in which participants were randomized to view either weight focused obesity prevention campaigns or obesity prevention campaigns that did not use weight related terms. Results demonstrated that compared with campaigns without weight related terminology, weight focused campaigns increased negative perceptions of obesity and decreased self-efficacy for health behavior change. No differences in body satisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, state anxiety, or frequency of positive health behaviors were found based on the type of campaign viewed. Finally, exposure to both types of campaigns increased internalization of the thin-ideal. This study demonstrates that weight focused prevention messages pose serious public health consequences. Obesity prevention campaigns should refrain from using weight-related terminology and instead emphasize the positive health consequences of a healthy diet and physical activity.

The relationship between the body, food and exercise is complex and remains poorly understood within the athletic population. Much of what is currently known stems from disordered eating literature grounded in objectivist perspectives. While this literature has been fruitful, it has limited our understanding of athletes' eating and body experiences as they have primarily been conceptualized through an objectivist lens as pathological and/or linked to individual psychological deficiencies (e.g., low self-esteem, body image distortion). In turn, the ways in which food and exercise are negotiated and experienced by athletes in the context of taken-for-granted social, cultural and gendered discourses had not yet been explored. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to use an alternative theoretical perspective (i.e., feminist psychology) to look beyond the traditional objectivist notion of `disordered eating' and explore the complex relationship between the body, food and exercise in athletes (i.e., male and female distance runners), including the underlying meanings surrounding the athletic body and the role of gender and power in the social construction of their body experiences. A narrative approach drawing from Sparkes & Smith (2008), Smith & Sparkes (2008, 2010), and Riessman (1993, 2008) was used to accomplish this research goal. As such, participants were asked to tell stories about their body experiences, in relation to both eating and exercising, over the course of two separate individual interviews, as well as to create a visual representation/story of their running experience. These stories stood as the backdrop through which meanings were sought, as they provided a window into larger social, cultural and historical narratives as well as the process of individual meaning-making around the body, food and exercise (Riessman, 1993, 2008; Smith & Sparkes, 2010). A total of nine recreational distance runners (5 males, 4 females) and three elite (i.e., collegiate or post-collegiate) distance runners (1 male, 2 females) participated in the study. Together, these 12 runners produced a sum of 23 narrative interviews and 11 visual narratives, all of which underwent a combined thematic, dialogic/performance and visual analysis. The results of this thorough analysis indicated that the runners' stories were primarily situated in broader self-identity narratives and further demarcated by one of two opposing running narratives that shifted the meanings around the body, food and exercise in complex ways. Furthermore, their stories, along with the construction of meanings around the body, food and exercise, were found to be situated and negotiated within gendered narratives of the self. The ways in which the runners drew upon these narratives, and formed meanings within them, directly impacted their thoughts, emotions and behaviors around their bodies, food and exercise in both empowering (i.e., positive and healthy) and/or disempowering ways. As such, this study highlighted the complexity of the body, food and exercise relationship in distance runners and demonstrated how athletes' eating and exercising practices are socially and culturally formed through the narratives made available to them.

Eating disorders are alarmingly prevalent and potentially lethal. The proper assessment of eating disorder symptoms is therefore crucial for the early identification and treatment of those suffering from these serious illnesses. Current measures of eating disorder symptoms are either very narrow in scope (e.g., assess only one aspect of disordered eating, such as bingeing) and/or have one or more serious limitations, such as inconsistent factor structures and/or poor discriminant validity. Because several of the existing measures of eating disorders were created over 20 years ago, many of these limitations are the direct result of out-dated scale development methods and testing.The goal this study was to determine the structure underlying the symptoms of eating disorders and develop a multidimensional measure of eating pathology based on this structure. To accomplish this goal, an initial item pool was developed to assess 20 dimensions of eating pathology. The initial item pool of 160 items was administered to a student sample (N=433) and community sample(N=407) to determine the preliminary structure of the measure using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The revised measure was then administered to independent samples of psychiatric patients (N=190) and students (N=227). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a 7-factor structure that showed excellent convergent and discriminant validity. The final measure was also internally consistent (median coefficient alphas ranged from .84-.89) and reliable over a two- to four-week period (r's ranged from .70-.84). The current study represents one of, perhaps, the most comprehensive scale development project ever conducted in the field of eating disorders and is expected to improve future basic and treatment research focused on eating disorders.

Developmental and prevention researchers aim to determine how unhealthy behaviors emerge. Mediation analysis offers a statistical tool that allows researchers to describe the processes underlying early risk and later health outcomes. Among existing longitudinal mediation models, latent difference score mediation stands out due to its unique ability to capture variations in changes both within and across individuals, as well as its ability to examine non-linear change over time. However, the literature currently lacks sample size guidelines for latent difference mediation models, which has proven to make the use of these models difficult. The current project addresses this limitation by offering an empirical set of sample guidelines for a variety of latent difference mediation score models through a Monte Carlo simulation study. By offering empirical sample size guidelines for latent difference score mediation models, future developmental and prevention researchers can make informed sampling decisions prior to data collection. Moreover, women who misuse alcohol have been found to experience more severe medical consequences than men. However, minimal research has evaluated how gender specific risk factors influence its onset. The current project addresses this limitation by applying latent difference score mediation to evaluate how disordered eating behaviors among adolescent girls influence alcohol misuse among adult women.

Historically disordered eating research has been gendered with models focusing on women’s pursuit of a thin ideal, as well as men’s attempts to obtain a muscular ideal. The motivations to achieve these ideals are called the drive for thinness (DT) and drive for muscularity (DM). More recently, a cultural shift has been noted in that ideal bodies are converging across sexes to a lean ideal, with the associated motivation being labeled the drive for leanness (DL). As DL is a nascent construct, little is known about its relationships with DT and DM, or if it predicts or is predicted by the same variables that are associated with DT and DM. This study aimed to expand what is known about DL in four ways: 1) ascertain the uniqueness of DL from DT and DM; 2) explore whether DL is sex neutral; 3) investigate the extent to which DL is more or less adaptive than DT and/or DM in terms of health-related outcomes; and 4) explore associations between DL and established predictors from sociocultural models of disordered eating. Analyses evidenced support for DL’s distinctiveness from DT and DM, partial support for DL’s sex neutrality, partial support discerned via relationships with health-related outcomes for DL’s adaptive nature in comparison to DT or DM, and support for DL’s relationships with sociocultural predictors being similar to that seen between these predictors with DT and DM. This study adds to the literature by broadening what is known about DL’s uniqueness, sex neutrality, adaptive nature, and sociocultural fit in relation to the other drives within a theory based framework, providing a potential basis for future DL model building and research in general.

The Body Project is a cognitive dissonance-based eating disorder (ED) preventive intervention program with ample empirical support among adolescent and undergraduate female samples. Recently, community stakeholders and data suggest that preventive efforts must also target body satisfaction and increasing ED symptomatology seen in males. The current study examined the efficacy of a male-only (MO), a mixed-sex (MS), and a traditional female-only (FO) Body Project program compared to a minimal attention control (AC) in a community sample. Participants included adolescents male and female students (N = 182) aged 13-19 years across three high school sites. Participants completed self-report measures assessing body satisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, ED symptom count, psychosocial impairment secondary to weight and shape concerns, and acceptability of the Body Project 4 High Schools program at baseline and post-intervention. Hierarchical linear regressions and generalized linear models were used to estimate main effects of condition and examine whether sex moderated condition effects on outcome variables. In single-sex groups, girls showed greater improvement in body satisfaction compared to AC, while boys did not show significant differences from AC. For boys and girls, MS was associated with improved body satisfaction compared to AC, while its impact on other risk factors was largely non-significant. Effect sizes are presented as a measure of clinical significance. These results contribute to existing Body Project data and provide preliminary empirical support of the applicability of the well-established dissonance-based preventive intervention to adolescent boys.

Eating disorders affect individuals from most ethnic backgrounds. Research suggests that White females experience the greatest levels of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. Studies examining Chinese females found they experienced similar levels of disordered eating but less body dissatisfaction to White females. This study was conducted to examine the prevalence of eating disorder symptomatology in Chinese and Other ethnicities in New Zealand. A sample of female university students at the University of Waikato completed questionnaires (N=116) to assess disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. In contrast to previous findings Chinese females actually exhibited more disordered eating behaviours and body dissatisfaction attitudes than did other females living in New Zealand. Also, fear of weight gain was more likely to be exhibited by Chinese females than other females. Pressure to be thin came from similar sources for both Chinese and other female students. While, length of time living in New Zealand did not appear to alter Chinese females' levels of disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. However in keeping with previous research, the present findings did suggest that the data from this study support the suggestion that the EAT-26 may not be an appropriate measure for Chinese females when assessing eating disorders. These findings have important implications for future research on ethnicities and eating disorders, and for clinicians working with Chinese female clients.