Definitions
Risk factor – a variable that predicts the development of a given outcome.
Body dissatisfaction – negative emotions associated with one’s physical appearance or body in general.
Diet – a usually short term change in eating patterns and caloric intake for the purpose of weight loss
Background
Although only a relatively small amount of theory and research has examined ways in which peer interactions and peer relationships contribute to risk for clinical eating disorders, a substantial literature has explored relationships between peer interactions and the known risk factors for eating disorders, in particular bulimia nervosa, of body dissatisfaction and dieting. Consequently, in this chapter, the role of peer interactions and relationships in the development of body dissatisfaction and dieting as well as eating disorder symptoms will be explored.
Peer interactions and relationships that have been...
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References and Further Reading
Blodgett Salafia, E. H., & Gondoli, D. M. (2011). A 4-year longitudinal investigation of the processes by which parents and peers influence the development of early adolescent girls’ bulimic symptoms. Journal of Early Adolescence, 31, 390–414. doi:10.1177/0272431610366248.
Damiano, S. R., Paxton, S. J., Wertheim, E. H., McLean, S. A., & Gregg, K. J. (2015). Dietary restraint of 5-year old girls: Associations with internalization of the thin ideal, maternal, media and peer influences. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 8, 1166–1169.
Dohnt, H., & Tiggemann, M. (2006). The contribution of peer and media influences to the development of body satisfaction and self-esteem in young girls: A prospective study. Developmental Psychology, 42, 929–936. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.5.929.
Eisenberg, M. E., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2010). Friends’ dieting and disordered eating behaviors among adolescents five years later: Findings from Project EAT. Journal of Adolescent Health, 47, 67–73.
Paxton, S. J., Schutz, H. K., Wertheim, E. H., & Muir, S. L. (1999). Friendship clique and peer influences on body image concerns, dietary restraint, extreme weight-loss behaviors, and binge eating in adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 255–266. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.108.2.255.
Richardson, S. M., & Paxton, S. J. (2010). An evaluation of a body image intervention based on risk factors for body dissatisfaction: A controlled study with adolescent girls. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 43(2), 112–122. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2008.11.001.
Schutz, H. K., & Paxton, S. J. (2007). Friendship quality, body dissatisfaction, dieting and disordered eating in adolescent girls. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46, 67–83. doi:10.1348/014466506X115993.
Stice, E., Maxfield, J., & Wells, T. (2003). Adverse effects of social pressure to be thin on young women: An experimental investigation of the effects of “fat talk”. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 34, 108–117. doi:10.1002/eat.10171.
Webb, H. J., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2013). The role of friends and peers in adolescent body dissatisfaction: A review and critique of 15 years of research. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 24, 564–590. doi:10.1111/jora.12084.
Zalta, A. K., & Keel, P. K. (2006). Peer influence on bulimic symptoms in college students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115, 185–189.
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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
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Paxton, S.J., McLean, S.A. (2015). Peer Interactions and Relationships. In: Wade, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_148-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_148-1
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Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-087-2
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