[Tattoos and piercings in adolescents: family conflicts and temperament]. / Tatuaggi e piercing negli adolescenti: correlati familiari e temperamentali.

INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of body art, such as tattoos and piercings, has ancient roots, rediscovered in Western society during the '70s. The aim of this research is to investigate the prevalence and the characteristics of tattoos and piercings among Italian adolescents of high school in Padua, with particular attention to family context and temperament. METHODS: Some questionnaires about the presence or the wish of tattoos/piercings, smoke and alcohol use, familiar conflicts, and some temperamental features, such as novelty seeking, harm avoidance and reward dependence, have been administered to a sample of 829 students. RESULTS: Tattoo and piercing's prevalence among adolescents was respectively 4% and 24%; 2.5% of the sample had both. Respectively 62% and 35% of the subjects expressed the desire of having a tattoo or piercing. A significant association has been found between tattoo/piercing's presence and smoke and alcohol use (p < 0.001). Subjects with tattoos and piercings, are more likely to have familiar conflicts and minor perceived support and they have higher scores on the novelty seeking scale. Those who wish a tattoo/piercing showed higher reward dependence. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that tattoos/piercings are common among young people and it stresses the relevance of familiar and temperamental features, and the association between tattoos/piercings and some maladaptive behaviors, like smoke and alcohol use.

Expressive writing for high-risk drug dependent patients in a primary care clinic: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown that expressive writing is beneficial in terms of both physical and emotional health outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and acceptability of a brief expressive writing intervention for high-risk drug dependent patients in a primary care clinic, and to determine the relationship between linguistic features of writing and health outcomes. METHODS: Participants completed four 15-minute expressive writing tasks over a week, in which they described their thoughts and feelings about a recent stressful event. Self-report measures of physical (SF-12) and psychological health (DASS-21) were administered at baseline and at a two-week follow-up. Fifty-three participants were recruited and 14 (26%) completed all measures. RESULTS: No statistically significant benefits in physical or psychological health were found, although all outcomes changed in the direction of improvement. The intervention was well-received and was rated as beneficial by participants. The use of more positive emotion words in writing was associated with improvements in depression and stress, and flexibility in first person pronoun use was associated with improvements in anxiety. Increasing use of cognitive process words was associated with worsening depressive mood. CONCLUSION: Although no significant benefits in physical and psychological health were found, improvements in psychological wellbeing were associated with certain writing styles and expressive writing was deemed acceptable by high-risk drug dependent patients. Given the difficulties in implementing psychosocial interventions in this population, further research using a larger sample is warranted.

Media-portrayed idealized images, self-objectification, and eating behavior.

This study examined the effects of media-portrayed idealized images on young women's eating behavior. The study compared the effects for high and low self-objectifiers. 72 female university students participated in this experiment. Six magazine advertisements featuring idealized female models were used as the experimental stimuli, and the same six advertisements with the idealized body digitally removed became the control stimuli. Eating behavior was examined using a classic taste test that involved both sweet and savory food. Participants' restraint status was assessed. We found that total food intake after exposure was the same in the body present and absent conditions. There were also no differences between high and low self-objectifiers' total food intake. However, for the total amount of food consumed and for sweet food there were significant group by condition interaction effects. High self-objectifiers ate more food in the body present than the body absent condition. In contrast, low self-objectifiers ate more food in the body absent than in the body present condition. Restraint status was not found to moderate the relationship between exposure to idealized images the amount of food consumed. Our results indicate that exposure to media-portrayed idealized images can lead to changes in eating behavior and highlight the complexity of the association between idealized image exposure and eating behavior. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the prevention of dieting-related disorders.

Media-portrayed idealized images, body shame, and appearance anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to determine the effects of media-portrayed idealized images on young women's body shame and appearance anxiety, and to establish whether the effects depend on advertisement type and on participant self-objectification. METHOD: Participants were 39 female university students. Twenty-four magazine advertisements comprised 12 body-related and 12 non-body-related products, one half of each with, and the other one half without, idealized images. Preexposure and post exposure body shame and appearance anxiety measures were recorded. RESULTS: Appearance anxiety increased after viewing advertisements featuring idealized images. There was also a significant interaction between self-objectification level and idealized body (presence vs. absence). No differences emerged for body-related compared with non-body-related product advertisements. The only result for body shame was a main effect for time. Participants' body shame increased after exposure to idealized images, irrespective of advertisement type. DISCUSSION: Although our findings reveal that media-portrayed idealized images detrimentally affect the body image of young women, they highlight the individual differences in vulnerability and the different effects for different components of body image. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the prevention and early intervention of body image and dieting-related disorders. (

Engaging teachers in an eating disorder preventive intervention.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness at 1-year follow-up of a psychoeducational eating disorders preventive intervention implemented by specifically trained teachers. METHOD: Participating teachers participated in a 5-week training program. One hundred forty-one female students attending nine classes at a vocational training school in Mestre (Venice) were assessed via a structured clinical interview (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders) and via the 40-item Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-40). Three classes were randomly selected to participate in a 6-week prevention program conducted by the trained teachers. RESULTS: Our data show that a disturbing number of the girls who were asymptomatic at baseline had developed a full or partial eating disorder 1 year later. This was the case for 2 (5%) participants and 10 (11%) subjects in the control group. Subjects in the prevention group differed significantly from the control group at the 1-year follow-up. This was the case for their EAT Bulimia subscale scores, which showed a significant improvement. The intervention group also revealed a lower development of food restraint and pathologic body attitudes. DISCUSSION: Given the sample size, our findings must be considered cautiously. However, they suggest that students can benefit from participation in a preventive intervention program conducted by teachers, and the benefits appear to be particularly pronounced for bulimic symptoms.

A large-scale survey of eating disorder symptomatology among female adolescents in the People's Republic of China.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to document comprehensively the prevalence of the signs, symptoms, and associated features of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa among schoolgirls in the People's Republic of China. METHODS: Female participants were recruited from both junior and senior high schools with varying levels of academic performance in six cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Zunyi, Xin Xiang, and Yinchuan) that are representative of different geographical regions in China (North East, Central East, South East, South West, North West, and North). In each school, girls were recruited across all grades, in order to cover ages 12-19 years. The final sample comprised 1,246 participants whose mean age was 15.76 years. The questionnaire, developed specifically for the purpose of this research, assessed the diagnostic criteria and associated features of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa outlined in the 4th ed. of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Our results have shown a surprisingly high level of weight-related concerns among schoolgirls across mainland China. There would seem to be few cases of anorexia or bulimia, although some girls satisfy criteria for partial diagnoses. Our findings highlight the difficulty of identifying girls who are underweight, at least by applying the standard Western procedure for categorizing body mass index.

Empirical support for a model of dieting: findings from structural equations modeling.

OBJECTIVE: This paper presents the results of an evaluation of a model of dieting (Huon, G.F., & Strong, K.G., International Journal of Eating Disorders, 23, 361-370, 1998). It represents the culmination of a large-scale time-extended study of dieting among adolescent girls. METHODS: Data were collected from approximately 1,000 girls. A battery of questionnaires assessed dieting status, social influence, vulnerability (conformity) disposition, protective social skills, and aspects of the familial context as core components of the model. RESULTS: When the data were subjected to analyses within structural equations modeling, all specific hypotheses within the model found strong support. Moreover, multiple indices revealed that the model had a very good fit with the data and accounted for 89% of the variance in commitment to dieting. CONCLUSION: This study provides strong support for the validity of Huon and Strong's model of dieting among Australian girls. Its generality among girls in other cultures remains to be established.

Negative affect and binge eating in overweight women.

OBJECTIVES: Binge eating among overweight women is associated with adverse physical and psychological consequences, and is known to occur in response to negative affect. This study sought to examine the role played by individual differences in coping style in the relationship between negative affect and binge eating. METHOD: Overweight women (N = 105) completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed their binge eating severity, negative affect, and dispositional coping style. RESULTS: Women with higher levels of negative affect had more severe binge eating problems than those who generally experienced a low level of affective distress. Among those who were low in negative affect, however, those who tended to use the dysfunctional strategy of disengagement to cope with stress reported more severe binge eating than those who reported they were less likely to employ this coping style. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this study emphasize the complexity and multicausality of affect-related binge eating in overweight women. Prospective studies are required to establish the role of negative affect and coping style in the onset and progression of recurrent binge eating among overweight individuals.

Application of Structural Equation Modeling in Clinical Psychology / 中国临床心理学杂志

Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has become an increasingly used methodological strategy in clinical psychology. The purpose of this paper is to outline a set of procedures for the optimizing use of SEM. The steps involved: (1) clarification of the phenomenon; (2) development of the model; (3)tesing of the model; (4) refinement of the model; and (5) assessment of the model.A research on adolescents' initiation of dieting was applied to illustrate the use of SEM.