Self-esteem, diet self-efficacy, body mass index, and eating disorders: modeling effects in an ethnically diverse sample.

PURPOSE: Disordered eating patterns, particularly binge eating, are prevalent in Hispanic samples, yet the biopsychosocial risk factors remain understudied in minority populations. The relationship between diet self-efficacy and bulimic symptoms has been established in non-Hispanic white samples but not yet in Hispanics. This study sought to identify the direct role of diet self-efficacy on eating disorder risk and symptomology in a multicultural Hispanic sample, and to investigate the potential indirect relations among diet self-efficacy, self-esteem, body mass index (BMI), and eating disorder risk and symptomology in Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites. METHODS: The present study surveyed 1339 college students from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Participants completed four standardized scales to assess acculturation, diet self-efficacy, global self-esteem, and eating disorder symptomology and risk. Self-reported height and weight were used for BMI calculations, and the data were analyzed in a robust maximum-likelihood structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. RESULTS: The findings highlighted diet self-efficacy as a predictor of eating disorder risk and symptomology. Diet self-efficacy partially explained the covariation between self-esteem and eating disorder risk and symptomology, and between BMI and eating disorder risk and symptomology for the entire sample. CONCLUSION: Diet self-efficacy emerged as an important construct to consider in developing eating disorder prevention and treatment models.

Facets of the childhood anxiety sensitivity index among Serbian youth.

Data from factor analytic studies using the Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) suggest that global anxiety sensitivity (AS) is best represented by three or four underlying factors or facets. The aim of this study was to identify facets best representing the CASI structure in its Serbian version. Confirmatory factor analysis was used on data collected from 456 non-referred children in Serbia. A 13-item version of the CASI provided a better fit to the data than the original 18-item version. The four-factor model of the CASI-13 with disease, unsteady, mental incapacitation, and social concerns facets provided the best fits for the data and it was found to be fully invariant (configural, metric, and scalar invariance) across gender and age. Among Serbian children, hierarchical structure was found for a 13-item CASI version with a single higher-order factor of global AS represented by four underlying facets. Future research will consider these AS facets and their role in the development, maintenance, and exacerbation of anxiety symptoms in children.

Psychometric properties of the intuitive eating scale-2 (IES-2) in a culturally diverse Hispanic American sample.

BACKGROUND: Intuitive eating is an adaptive eating tendency consistently associated with positive physical and mental health outcomes, including lower risk for obesity and eating disorders (EDs). Obesity rates are disproportionately high in Hispanic American populations, yet the properties of intuitive eating remain to be examined in such samples. METHOD: The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (IES-2) in a Hispanic American sample of adult college students (N=482), and related IES-2 scores to levels of disordered eating, body mass index (BMI), fruit and vegetable consumption, and body shape satisfaction. RESULTS: The final confirmatory factor analysis supported a three factor, 11 item measure with the subscales of Eating for Physical Rather Than Emotional Reasons, Reliance on Hunger and Satiety Cues, and Body Food Choice Congruence. The Unconditional Permission to Eat subscale could not be replicated in the current sample. As predicted, scores on the revised measure differed by BMI category and body shape satisfaction, and correlated with disordered eating tendencies and fruit and vegetable consumption. CONCLUSION: The current findings demonstrate that the modified IES-2 is better tailored to assess the cultural nuances influencing intuitive eating and can advance understanding how intuitive eating is understood and practiced in Hispanic Americans, compared to the original measure.