Counseling Psychology, College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, Arizona State University.
Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center, Arizona State University.
J Pediatr Psychol. 2020 Sep 1;45(8):848-857. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsaa047.
Obesity is a critical public health condition affecting Latinx adolescents and contributes to health disparities across the lifespan. Childhood and adolescent obesity is associated with reduced quality of life (QoL) and decreased self-esteem. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of cultural (e.g., familism) and psychosocial (e.g., self-esteem) factors as predictors of weight-specific QoL among Latinx adolescents with obesity.
Baseline data from 160 Latinx adolescents (ages 14-16 years) with obesity (BMI > 95th percentile for age and sex) who were recruited for a diabetes prevention intervention were used. Structural equation modeling tested the relationships between four latent constructs (familism, positive self-esteem, self-deprecation, and weight-specific QoL).
The model tested paths from familism to positive self-esteem, self-deprecation, and weight-specific QoL, and paths from positive self-esteem and self-deprecation to weight-specific QoL. Higher familism was positively associated with positive self-esteem but not self-deprecation. In turn, positive self-esteem was positively associated with higher weight-specific QoL, whereas self-deprecation was negatively associated. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect of familism on QoL via positive self-esteem.
These data shed light into specific cultural and psychosocial constructs that influence QoL among Latinx adolescents with obesity. This study suggests that familism and positive self-esteem can operate as protective factors associated with higher weight-specific QoL in Latinx adolescents with obesity; whereas self-deprecation may operate as a risk factor for lower weight-specific QoL.
肥胖是影响拉丁裔青少年的一个严重公共健康问题，也是导致终生健康差异的一个因素。儿童和青少年肥胖与生活质量（QoL）下降和自尊心降低有关。本研究旨在探讨文化（例如，家庭主义）和心理社会（例如，自尊心）因素作为拉丁裔肥胖青少年特定体重 QoL 的预测因素的作用。
使用了来自 160 名拉丁裔青少年（年龄在 14-16 岁之间）的基线数据，这些青少年患有肥胖症（BMI 高于年龄和性别的第 95 百分位），他们被招募参加糖尿病预防干预。结构方程模型测试了四个潜在结构（家庭主义、积极自尊心、自我贬低和特定体重 QoL）之间的关系。
测试的模型路径包括家庭主义与积极自尊心、自我贬低和特定体重 QoL 之间的关系，以及积极自尊心和自我贬低与特定体重 QoL 之间的关系。较高的家庭主义与积极自尊心正相关，但与自我贬低无关。反过来，积极的自尊心与更高的特定体重 QoL 正相关，而自我贬低则与之负相关。此外，家庭主义对 QoL 的间接影响是通过积极的自尊心实现的。
这些数据揭示了影响拉丁裔肥胖青少年 QoL 的特定文化和心理社会结构。本研究表明，家庭主义和积极自尊心可以作为与拉丁裔肥胖青少年更高特定体重 QoL 相关的保护因素发挥作用；而自我贬低可能是特定体重 QoL 较低的风险因素。
