Kamody Rebecca C, Thurston Idia B, Burton E Thomaseo
Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT 06519, USA.
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Children (Basel). 2021 Feb 3;8(2):102. doi: 10.3390/children8020102.
Traditional weight management approaches focused solely on weight loss as a measure of success may lead youth to internalize negative beliefs about their appearance, and feel they have little control over their health. We examined how perceptions of appearance and health-related locus of control (HRLOC) influenced engagement and outcomes in a behavioral health intervention for binge eating. Thirty adolescents aged 14-18 years completed measures of self-perception, HRLOC, and eating behaviors. Half ( = 15) completed baseline assessments only, while the other half participated in a 10-week intervention targeting dysregulated eating behaviors. Analyses revealed negative perceptions of physical appearance and internal HRLOC were higher at baseline among youth who completed the intervention compared to those who completed baseline assessments only. Among those completing the intervention, however, greater internal HRLOC and more positive perception of physical appearance at baseline was associated with greater reduction in objective binge episodes and emotional eating post-intervention. Findings of the present study suggest that while having a more negative perception of one's appearance may initially motivate youth to participate in weight-related interventions, such perceptions can actually lead to poorer health outcomes, and further supports the extant literature on the benefits of interventions that engender positive body image.
传统的体重管理方法仅仅将体重减轻作为成功的衡量标准，这可能会导致年轻人将对自己外表的负面信念内化，并觉得自己对自身健康几乎无法掌控。我们研究了外表认知和健康相关控制点（HRLOC）如何影响针对暴饮暴食的行为健康干预中的参与度和结果。30名14至18岁的青少年完成了自我认知、HRLOC和饮食行为的测量。一半（n = 15）仅完成了基线评估，而另一半参与了为期10周的针对饮食行为失调的干预。分析显示，与仅完成基线评估的青少年相比，完成干预的青少年在基线时对外表的负面认知和内在HRLOC更高。然而，在完成干预的青少年中，基线时更高的内在HRLOC和对外表更积极的认知与干预后客观暴饮暴食发作和情绪化进食的更大减少相关。本研究结果表明，虽然对自己外表有更负面的认知可能最初会促使年轻人参与与体重相关的干预，但这种认知实际上可能导致更差的健康结果，并进一步支持了现有文献中关于产生积极身体形象的干预措施的益处的观点。
