The purpose of the current study was to further our understanding of the subjective experience of middle-age African American women who are HIV+ and on highly active antiretroviral therapy, particularly how self-reported lipodystrophy (LD), levels of body dissatisfaction, body image quality of life, and engagement in disordered eating behaviors are related. Multiple regression, MANOVA, MANCOVA, ANOVA, and chi-square were utilized to test hypotheses. Results revealed that HIV+ and HIV- women did not differ significantly on their levels of body dissatisfaction or drive for thinness. When HIV+ women were examined in more detail a pattern emerged: women who self-reported fat hypertrophy had significantly higher levels of body dissatisfaction, bingeing, but not purging, and dietary restriction and fear of weight gain compared to women who did not self-report LD. About 75% of the sample was overweight or obese, and when BMI was controlled for, these differences persisted for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors for fat hypertrophy, but not fat atrophy. Overall, the findings indicate that the type of LD, specifically hypertrophy, is more related to body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors, than LD in general. Clinical implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.

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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.

The field of treating and learning about eating disorders in athletes is a growing field that continues to flourish as more knowledge is acquired. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence that length of time in the sport, age at which an individual starts a competitive sport, level of competitiveness, and type of sport (leanness vs. non-leanness focused) has on disordered eating behaviors. The participants were college students who were involved in at least one competitive sport in their life. They completed the EAT-26 questionnaire as well as a basic questionnaire. There was not enough data collected to conduct a logistic regression so descriptive statistics are reported. This remains an area to be further explored as there is a gap in the literature on the age at which individuals begin competitive sports and the length of time in sports and how that relates to disordered eating behaviors.

Poor sexual function is comprised of diminished sexual desire and arousal, presence of sexual pain, inability to reach orgasm, and low satisfaction. Worse sexual function is associated with disordered eating behavior; however, the mechanism through which this association exists remains unclear. Theory of sexual function suggests that depression mediates the association of disordered eating behaviors and poor sexual function in female service members and veterans, but this has yet to be tested empirically. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether depression mediated the association of disordered eating behaviors and sexual dysfunction. Participants (N=511) were partnered females who completed measures of sexual function, disordered eating behavior, depression severity, and demographic and military characteristics. Nearly 60% reported probable sexual dysfunction, 19.6% reported probable eating disorder, and 44.4% reported probable depressive disorder. Higher depression symptoms were associated with lower sexual function (r=-.40, p<.001) and higher disordered eating behavior (r=.45, p<.001). Mediation analyses revealed that the association between disordered eating behavior and sexual function was indirect, through depression severity (indirect effect: -1.12, 95% confidence interval [-1.42, -0.85]). Depression is a potential mechanism through which disordered eating behaviors are related to poor sexual function. Findings are congruent with sexual function theory, and underscore the importance of addressing depression when treating sexual function in those with disordered eating behavior.