Sands R, Tricker J, Sherman C, Armatas C, Maschette W
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Science at Deakin University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
Int J Eat Disord. 1997 Mar;21(2):159-66. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1098-108x(199703)21:2<159::aid-eat6>3.0.co;2-k.
Eating disorders have been typically defined as an "adolescent problem." As a result of emerging evidence which indicated this health problem to be evident in the prepubescent age range, this study aimed to establish prevalence and factors associated with eating/dieting, physical activity, and body image among a nonclinical, naturalistically-derived sample of preadolescent (aged 10 and 11) school children (n = 61).
This cohort of children, which represented the entire grade 6 class of a suburban Elementary school, was measured for body image satisfaction [silhouettes], a participation in activity index, a self-worth scale and a measure of eating attitudes & behavior [Eating and Me scale [E & M]].
The longitudinal assessment of body image [3 measures over 9 months] indicated signs of stability of "actual" assessments of body image for males, but marked changes for females who preferred to be ideally "chunkier" in stature over time. Physical activity was only implicated with bulimia for the male sub-group. The E & M scale reported a Cronbach's alpha of .76, with two factors [bulimia; drive for thinness/anorexia] representing 65% of the total variance. Moderate internal validity [r .58] between body dissatisfaction on the E & M scale and the silhouette measure was observed.
These results demonstrated that body image views and concerns appeared before puberty, that gender differences prevailed with respect to eating/dieting, activity and body image, and that the E & M scale has emerged as a promising research tool. The longitudinal nature of this study of eating disorders also promotes the need for qualitative research methodology and attention to pre-pubertal cognitive/perceptual processes.
饮食失调通常被定义为“青少年问题”。鉴于新出现的证据表明这一健康问题在青春期前年龄段就已明显存在，本研究旨在确定10至11岁的青春期前非临床自然样本学龄儿童（n = 61）中饮食/节食、身体活动及身体意象的患病率及其相关因素。
对代表一所郊区小学整个六年级班级的这组儿童进行了身体意象满意度[轮廓图]、活动参与指数、自我价值量表以及饮食态度与行为测量[饮食与自我量表[E&M]]的评估。
对身体意象的纵向评估[9个月内进行3次测量]表明，男性对身体意象“实际”评估具有稳定性迹象，但女性的身体意象随时间推移有显著变化，她们理想中的身材更丰满。身体活动仅与男性亚组的贪食症有关。E&M量表的Cronbach's alpha系数为0.76，两个因子[贪食症；追求瘦身/厌食症]占总方差的65%。观察到E&M量表上的身体不满与轮廓图测量之间具有中等程度的内部效度[r = 0.58]。
这些结果表明，身体意象观念和担忧在青春期前就已出现，在饮食/节食、活动及身体意象方面存在性别差异，且E&M量表已成为一种有前景的研究工具。这项饮食失调研究的纵向性质也凸显了定性研究方法的必要性以及对青春期前认知/感知过程的关注。
