The relationships among body image dissatisfaction, disordered eating attitudes, sociocultural factors, gender and grade

by Marcello, Angela P.

Young children have been found to be dissatisfied with their body image and to display disordered eating attitudes. Current research has focused on the exposureto influences such as the media, parental presccupation with eating and exercise, and peer teasing on body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating attitudes. This study examined M y image dissatisfaction,disordered eating attitudes and exposure to sociocultural factors in 112 boys and girls in grades one and three. Each participant completed the Collins Child Figure Drawings, the Revised Version of the Body Dissatisfaction Scale of the Eating Disorder inventory (EDI-BD), the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) and a Socioculhual influences Questionnaire. On the Collins, third graders were more dissatisfied with their body image than first graders. The majority of this sample of chilken displayed body image dissatisfaction. Girls were found to display more unequal choices for heavier and thinner body ideals; they chose thinner ideals most of & en, whereas males chose thin and heavy ideals equally. The majority of this sample of children did not display disordered eating attitudes. Overall, female participants obtained higher scores on a questionnaire investigating the impact of the media, parental preoccupation with eating and exercise, and peers than males. For girls, body mass and weight were significandycorreiated with aU three measures, while for boys, body mass and weight were only conelated with the Collins. By focusing on the early development of body image dissatisfaction, disordered eating attitudes and the underlying factors that promote such development, it may be possible to identiQchildren at risk for eating disorders.