Relationships between expectancies and adolescent dieting behaviors.

Dieting expectancies are cognitive variables pertaining to anticipated outcomes individuals expect to obtain from dieting to lose weight. This investigation examined the factor structure of dieting expectancies in an adolescent population, age 10-18, and tested the ability of factors to distinguish among types of dieter, diet pill user, and vomiter groups. Emerging from a principal components analysis were five reliable expectancy factors: Social Confidence, Social Approval, Self-Worth, Positive Performance, and Negative Consequences. Results indicate dieting expectancies and gender are important in distinguishing among adolescents who engage in different dieting practices. Gender and Self-Worth were particularly important in distinguishing frequent dieters from nondieters. Social Approval was best at separating frequent dieters from occasional dieters, diet pills users from nonusers, and vomiters from nonvomiters.