The clinical and psychosocial characteristics of 239 dieting and nondieting adolescents (61% female; mean age=15.3) recruited from an inpatient psychiatric setting were examined. Dieting adolescents were compared to nondieting adolescents on exercise frequency, weight control behaviors, risky behaviors, psychiatric comorbidity and distress, eating disorder symptomatology, smoking, coping, and family factors. While dieters did not statistically differ from nondieters on scores of body mass index, dieting youth reported greater levels of self-reported distress, poorer coping, greater eating disorder symptomatology, and were more likely to engage in extreme weight control behaviors. In addition, dieting was associated with higher rates of major depression (58% vs 34%) and eating disorders (14% vs 1%). Among adolescent smokers, dieters endorsed smoking as a weight control behavior. Engaging in risky behaviors or familial factors did not differentiate dieters from nondieters. Given the number of negative correlates associated with dieting in adolescents, identifying dieting and weight control behaviors in clinical settings may prove to be an effective strategy in the development of prevention and intervention efforts for youth.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Aseltine, R. H., Gore, S., & Colten, M. E. (1999). The co-occurrence of depression and substance abuse in late adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 549–570.
Austin, S. B., & Gortmaker, S. L. (2001). Dieting and smoking initiation in early adolescent girls and boys: a prospective study. American Journal of Public Health, 91, 446–450.
Barnes, H., & Olson, D. H. (1982). The Adolescent-Parent Communication Form. St. Paul, MN: Family Social Science, University of Minnesota.
Borresen, R., & Rosenvinge, J. H. (2003). Body dissatisfaction and dieting in 4,952 Norwegian children aged 11–15 years: less evidence for gender and age differences. Eating and Weight Disorders, 8, 238–241.
Brener, N. D., Kann, L., McManus, T., Kinchen, S. A., Sundberg, E. C., & Ross, J. G. (2003). Reliability of the 1999 Youth Risk Behaviors Survey Questionnaire. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 336–342.
Brown, R. A., Burgess, E. S., Sales, S. D., Whiteley, J. A., Evans, D. M. &, Miller, I. W. (1998). Reliability and validity of a smoking timeline followback interview. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 12, 101–112.
Brown, R. A., Ramsey, S. E., Strong, D. R., Myers, M. G., Kahler, C. W., Lejuez, C. W., Niaura, R., Pallonen, U. E., Kazura, A. N., Goldstein, M. G., & Abrams, D. B. (2003). Effects of motivational interviewing on smoking cessation in adolescents with psychiatric disorders. Tobacco Control, 12 Suppl 4, IV3–IV10.
Burns, C. M., Tijhuis, M. A. R., & Seidell, J. C. (2001). The relationship between quality of life and perceived body weight and dieting history in Dutch men and women. International Journal of Obesity, 25, 1386–1392.
Byely, L., Archibald, A. B., Graber, J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). A prospective study of familial and social influences on girls’ body image and dieting. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28, 155–164.
Cachelin, F. M., Weiss, J. W., & Garbanati, J. A. (2003). Dieting and its relationship to smoking, acculturation, and family environment in Asian and Hispanic adolescents. Eating Disorders, 11, 51–61.
Casper, R. C., & Offer, D. (1990). Weight and dieting concerns in adolescents, fashion or symptom? Pediatrics, 8, 384–390.
Costello, A. J., Edelbrock, C., Duncan, M. K., Kalas, R., Klaric, S. (1984). Development and testing of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children on a clinical population: Final Report (Contract #RFP-DB-81-0027). Rockville MD: Center for Epidemiologic Studies: National Institute for Mental Health.
Derogatis, L. R., & Melisaratos, N. (1983). The brief symptom inventory: An introductory report. Psychological Medicine, 13, 595–605.
Donovan, J. E., & Jessor, R. (1985). Structure of problem behavior in adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 890–904.
Fagerstrom, K. O. (1978). Measuring degree of physical dependence to tobacco smoking with reference to individualization of treatment. Addictive Behaviors, 3, 235–241.
Field, A. E., Austin, S. B., Taylor, C. B., Malspeis, S., Rosner, B., Rockett, H. R., Gillman, M. W., & Colditz, G. A. (2003). Relation between dieting and weight change among preadolescents and adolescents. Pediatrics, 112, 900–906.
French, S. A., Perry, C. L., Leon, G. R., & Fulkerson, J. A. (1995). Changes in psychological variables and health behaviors by dieting status over a three-year period in a cohort of adolescent females. Journal of Adolescent Health, 16, 438–447.
Green, M. W., Jones, A. D., Smith, I. D., Cobain, M. R., Williams, M. G., Healy, H., Cowen, P. J., Powell, J., & Durlach, P. J. (2003). Impairments in working memory associated with naturalistic dieting in women: no relationship between task performance and urinary 5-HIAA levels. Appetite, 40, 145–153.
Green, M. W., Rogers, P. J., Elliman, N. A., & Gatenby, S. J. (1994). Impairments of cognitive performance associated with dieting and high levels of dietary restraint. Physiology and Behavior, 55, 447–452.
Huon, G., & Lim, J. (2000). The emergence of dieting among female adolescents: age, body mass index, and season effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28, 221–225.
Huon, G. F., & Strong, K. G. (1998). The initiation and the maintenance of dieting: Structural models for large-scale longitudinal investigations. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 23, 361–370.
Kolbe, L. J., Kann, L., & Collins, J. L. (1993). Overview of the youth risk behaviors surveillance system. Public Health Report, 108 Suppl 1, 2–10.
Koskelainen, M., Sourander, A., & Helenius, H. (2001). Dieting and weight concerns among Finnish adolescents. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 55, 427–431.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Striegel-Moore, R. H., & Seeley, J. R. (2000). Epidemiology and natural course of eating disorders in young women from adolescence to young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39, 1284–1292.
Lowry, R., Galuska, D. A., Fulton, J. E., Wechsler, H., & Kann, L. (1999). Weight management goals and practices among U.S. high school students: associations with physical activity, diet, and smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 133–144.
McGuire, M. T., Story, M., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Halcon, L., Campbell-Forrester, S., & Blum, R. W. M. (2002). Prevalence and correlated of weight-control behaviors among Caribbean Adolescent Students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 208–211.
Mellin, A. E., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Story, M., Ireland, M., & Resnick, M. D. (2002). Unhealthy behaviors and psychosocial difficulties among overweight adolescents; the potential impact of familial factors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 145–153.
Neumark-Sztainer, D., & Story, M. (1998). Dieting and binge eating among adolescents: what do they really mean? Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 98, 446–450.
Patton, G. C., Selzer, R., Coffey, C., Carlin, J. B., & Wolfe, R. (1999). Onset of adolescent eating disorders: population based cohort study over 3 years. British Medical Journal, 318, 765–768.
Radziszewska, B., Richardson, J. L., Dent, C. W., & Flay, B. R. (1996). Parenting style and adolescent depressive symptoms, smoking, and academic achievement: ethnic, gender and SES differences. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 9, 289–305.
Ramsey, S. E., Strong, D. R., Stuart, G. L., Weinstock, M. C., Williams, L. A., Tarnoff, G., Picotte-Prillmayer, D. M., & Brown, R. A. (2003). Substance use and diagnostic characteristics that differentiate smoking and nonsmoking adolescents in a psychiatric setting. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 191, 759–762.
Roberts, S. J., Maxwell, S. M., Bagnall, G., & Bilton, R. (2001). The incidence of dieting amongst adolescent girls: a question of interpretation? Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 14, 103–109.
Rogers, P. J., & Green, M. W. (1993). Dieting, dietary restraint and cognitive performance. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 32, 113–116.
Rosenbaum, M. A. (1980). schedule for assessing self-control behaviors: preliminary findings. Behavior Therapy, 11, 109–121.
Sobell, L. C., & Sobell, M. B. (1996). Timeline followback: A calendar method for assessing alcohol and drug use. Toronto Canada: Addiction Research Foundation.
Stice, E., & Bearman, S. K. (2001). Body-image and eating disturbances prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms in adolescent girls: a growth curve analysis. Developmental Psychology, 37, 597–607.
Stice, E., Cameron, R. P., Hayward, C., Taylor, C. B., & Killen, J. D. (1999). Naturalistic weight-reduction efforts prospectively predict growth in relative weight and onset of obesity among female adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67, 967–674.
Thompson, K. M., Wonderlich, S. A., Crosby, R. D., & Mitchell, J. E. (1999). The neglected link between eating disturbances and aggressive behavior in girls. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 1277–1283.
Tomeo, C. A., Field, A. E., Berkey, C. S., Colditz, G. A., & Frazier, A. L. (1999). Weight concerns, weight control behaviors, and smoking initiation. Pediatrics, 104, 918–924.
Velicer, W. F., DiClemente, C. C., Prochaska, J. O., & Brandenberg, N. (1985). A decisional balance measure for assessing and predicting smoking status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 1279–1289.
Velicer, W. F., DiClemente, C. C., Rossi, J. S., & Prochaska, J. O. (1990). Relapse situations and self-efficacy: An integrative model. Addictive Behaviors, 15, 271–283.
Waaddegaard, M., & Petersen, T. (2002). Dieting and desire for weight loss among adolescents in Denmark: a questionnaire survey. European Eating Disorders Review, 10, 329–346.
Weinstein, S. R., Noam, G. G., Grimes, K., Stone, K., Schwab-Stone, M. (1990). Convergence of DSM-III diagnoses and self-reported symptoms in child and adolescent inpatients. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29, 627–634.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported by Grant CA 77082 from the National Cancer Institute to Richard A. Brown, Ph.D. and a grant from the Brown University Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior to Susan E. Ramsey, Ph.D.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Abrantes, A.M., Strong, D.R., Ramsey, S.E. et al. Characteristics of Dieting and Nondieting Adolescents in a Psychiatric Inpatient Setting. J Child Fam Stud 15, 418–432 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-006-9033-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-006-9033-1