Division of Applied Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Int J Eat Disord. 2024 Aug;57(8):1716-1724. doi: 10.1002/eat.24227. Epub 2024 May 8.
This study aimed to examine the relationship between food insecurity (FI) and eating disorder psychopathology in a large sample of rural Chinese adolescents.
Analyses included 1654 adolescents (55.4% girls; M = 16.54 years, SD = 1.45) from a rural high school in southwestern China. FI, eating disorder psychopathology, and psychological distress (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress) were assessed. Data were analyzed by sex. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the zero-order association between FI and eating disorder psychopathology. Hierarchical linear regressions were used to explore whether FI could explain meaningful variance in eating disorder psychopathology beyond psychological distress and demographic covariates (e.g., socioeconomic status).
FI was significantly associated with higher eating disorder psychopathology for boys (r = 0.44, p < 0.001) and girls (r = 0.43, p < 0.001), with medium-to-large effect sizes. FI accounted for significant unique variance in eating disorder psychopathology beyond psychological distress and demographic covariates for boys (ΔR = 0.14, p < 0.001) and girls (ΔR = 0.10, p < 0.001).
Using a large sample of rural Chinese adolescents, this study extends the connection between FI and eating disorder pathology in adolescents beyond the Western context. Future investigations on the mechanisms underlying FI and eating disorder psychopathology are warranted for developing prevention strategies for eating disorders among rural Chinese adolescents.
This is the first investigation that examined the link between FI and eating disorder psychopathology among rural Chinese adolescents. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating FI as a potential risk factor to screen for the prevention and intervention of eating disorders among rural Chinese adolescents.
本研究旨在检验食物不安全（FI）与中国农村青少年大量样本中饮食障碍病理之间的关系。
分析包括来自中国西南部农村一所高中的 1654 名青少年（55.4%为女生；M=16.54 岁，SD=1.45）。FI、饮食障碍病理和心理困扰（即抑郁、焦虑和压力症状）得到评估。按性别进行数据分析。采用皮尔逊相关分析检验 FI 与饮食障碍病理之间的零阶关联。采用分层线性回归探讨 FI 是否可以在心理困扰和人口统计学协变量（例如社会经济地位）之外，对饮食障碍病理有意义的解释。
FI 与男生（r=0.44，p<0.001）和女生（r=0.43，p<0.001）的饮食障碍病理显著相关，具有中到大的效应量。FI 解释了男生（ΔR=0.14，p<0.001）和女生（ΔR=0.10，p<0.001）饮食障碍病理中除心理困扰和人口统计学协变量以外的显著独特方差。
本研究使用中国农村青少年的大样本，将 FI 与青少年饮食障碍病理之间的联系扩展到西方背景之外。未来需要对 FI 和饮食障碍病理之间的机制进行调查，以便为农村中国青少年制定饮食障碍预防策略。
这是第一项检验中国农村青少年中 FI 与饮食障碍病理之间关系的研究。我们的研究结果强调了将 FI 作为一个潜在的风险因素纳入农村中国青少年的饮食障碍筛查的重要性。
