مقایسه اجتماعی و عاطفه منفی به عنوان شاخص مشکل تغذیه و اشتغال ذهنی عضلانی در کودکان

Abstract The present study examined the utilization of social comparison practices and the role of negative affect in predicting body dissatisfaction, problem eating, and muscle preoccupation among young children. Participants were 236 children aged between 8 and 10 years. Children's eating, exercising, and muscle concerns were examined using a modified version of the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT), which included additional items pertaining to muscle bulk and exercising. Consistent with past findings, body mass index (BMI) was found to be the sole unique indicator of body dissatisfaction for both boys and girls. Utilization of social comparison practices with adults was the main unique indicator of the modified ChEAT factors for boys, while BMI was the main unique indicator of the modified ChEAT factors for girls. In addition, negative affect was associated with binging, food preoccupation, and social pressure to eat for boys and dieting and muscle preoccupation for girls. Findings are discussed in relation to previous studies with adolescents and adults

1. Introduction An increasing number of studies have shown that children as young as 7 and 8 years of age are engaging in problem eating attitudes and behaviors Collins, 1991, Edlund et al., 1996, Kelly et al., 1999, Rolland et al., 1997 and Thelen et al., 1992. Problem eating attitudes and behaviors include body dissatisfaction, concerns and behaviors pertaining to dieting, exercising to lose weight, binge eating, preoccupation with food, and purging (Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001). In recent years, it has been suggested that a growing number of children are engaging in these problem eating attitudes and behaviors that may lead to the development of more serious eating disorders in adolescence Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001 and Shisslak et al., 1998. In a study on body dissatisfaction and dieting practices in young children, Schur, Sanders, and Steiner (2000) reported that 48.3% of boys and 51.7% of girls wanted to weigh less and 41.9% and 12.9%, respectively, had engaged in some form of activity, in the past, in an attempt to alter their weight. The early detection of body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors is of great importance as children who engage in these practices may later develop more serious disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia, and may, consequently, develop unhealthy eating practices that threaten their physical and mental well-being (Shisslak et al., 1998). Therefore, it is important to investigate the development and prevalence of body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors among children and the factors that promote these practices so that appropriate educational programs addressing the issues of body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors in young children can be developed and implemented. The variables studied in preadolescent populations in relation to body dissatisfaction and engaging in problem eating attitudes and behaviors parallel those studied in adolescent and adult populations. The variables studied to date include: gender, age, body mass index (BMI), race, sociocultural pressures, self-concept, and gender traits Cusumano & Thompson, 2001, Kelly et al., 1999, Lawrence & Thelen, 1995, Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001, Rolland et al., 1997, Smolak et al., 2001, Thelen et al., 1992 and Thomas et al., 2000. Two other factors found to be related to problem eating attitudes and behaviors in adolescent and adult populations, but which have yet to be examined in young children, are social comparisons and negative affect Leon et al., 1995, Paxton et al., 1999, Schutz et al., 1999 and Stormer & Thompson, 1996. Social comparisons refer to the process whereby individuals compare their own attributes, behavior, achievements, and understanding with those of other individuals (Durkin, 1995). Negative affect, comprising both depression and anxiety, is viewed as a general factor of emotional distress encompassing moods such as, sadness, anger, fear, and guilt Joiner et al., 1996, Watson & Clark, 1984 and Watson & Tellegen, 1985. In recent years, the importance of social comparisons has received increasing attention with the finding that social comparisons are related to body dissatisfaction and dieting practices in adolescent and adult populations Paxton et al., 1999, Schutz et al., 1999, Stormer & Thompson, 1996 and Thompson & Heinberg, 1993. The findings from a study by Stormer and Thompson (1996) with a group of female college students indicated that engaging in social comparison practices and awareness of societal factors regarding thinness and the internalization of these beliefs were significant indicators of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance. In another study, Schutz et al. (1999) investigated body comparison practices among adolescent girls and found that 44% of Grade 7 girls, 56% of Grade 8 girls, and 64% of Grade 10 girls responded at least “sometimes” or greater to the question “Has comparing your body with others ever made you feel as if maybe you ought to diet or lose weight?” Schutz et al. also reported that 20% of Grade 7 girls, 42% of Grade 8 girls, and 44% of Grade 10 girls responded at least “sometimes” or greater to the question “Has comparing your body with others ever led you to actually start dieting?” Another factor found to contribute to body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors in adolescent and adult populations is negative affect Leon et al., 1995, Leon et al., 1999 and Pesa, 1999. Leon et al. (1995), in a 3-year study of adolescents, investigated risk factors involved in the later development of eating disorders and reported that the strongest indicator of risk in Year 1 of the study was a high score of negative emotionality. Likewise, Leon et al. (1999), in a 3- to 4-year study of risk factors for the later prevalence of disordered eating in adolescents, found that the only significant risk variable in the 3- to 4-year study was that of negative affect. In another study, Pesa (1999) found that depression was the second largest psychosocial indicator pertaining to dieting behaviors, after self-esteem, in distinguishing between female adolescent dieters and nondieters. Although social comparisons and negative affect have been typically studied independently, research suggests that utilization of social comparison practices and negative affect is closely interrelated and their effects are bidirectional. Festinger (1954) in his theory of social comparison postulated that individuals would compare themselves to others to evaluate themselves and their ideas in contexts in which there are no concrete objective criteria of performance or opinion. In these instances, individuals readily compare themselves to stable comparison counterparts that are deemed to be similar to oneself. In this respect, however, individuals who exhibit negative affect are less likely to find the similar affirmative information or downward social comparison information, which would improve their self-inferences. Therefore, individuals who exhibit negative affect are more open or aware of social comparison information and are more likely to make dissimilar upward, rather than similar downward comparisons Ahrens & Alloy, 1997 and Beck et al., 1979. In addition, upward social comparisons may further reinforce and help to maintain one's negative emotional states Ahrens & Alloy, 1997 and Beck et al., 1979. Not all the evidence, however, is consistent with this view. Some evidence suggests that depressed individuals are more likely to engage in downward social comparisons or fewer social comparison practices in order to cope with their feelings of inadequacies and to protect their low level of self-esteem from plummeting further Ahrens & Alloy, 1997 and Flett et al., 1987. To date, social comparisons and negative affect have not been studied in relation to body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors in children despite the evidence that suggests that social comparisons and negative affect are indicators of body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors in adolescents and adults. However, the utilization of social comparison practices among children has been found to be a significant correlate in other behavioral domains. Social comparisons have been found to be related to self-evaluation processes that involve assessing one's level of ability and evaluating one's academic performance Ruble et al., 1980 and Ruble & Flett, 1988. Likewise, negative affect has been found to be an important correlate of other problem behaviors in childhood. Negative affect has been found to be related to avoidance coping strategies, low self-concept, low self-esteem, unpopularity, and somatic complaints Crook et al., 1998, Kazdin et al., 1985 and Orvaschel et al., 1997. Although, social comparison practices and negative affect have been found to be related to various problem behaviors in childhood, these have not been found to be expressed differently in preadolescent girls and boys Kandel & Davies, 1982, Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990, Ruble et al., 1980, Ruble & Flett, 1988 and Wichstrom, 1999. Gender differences in the expression of negative affect and social comparison practices tend to become highly gendered somewhere between early and middle adolescence Ricciardelli et al., 2000 and Wichstrom, 1999. The present study was designed to examine the utilization of social comparison practices and the role of negative affect in relation to body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors in children aged between 8 and 10 years. Examined also were attitudes and behaviors concerned with muscle bulk and exercise, as these are more common preoccupations among young boys but are not assessed in current instruments that examine attitudes and behaviors associated with body image concerns in children Kurts, 1998 and Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001. While many preadolescent boys desire a thinner body size (17–30%), other boys desire a larger/broader body size (13–48%) (Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2001). In fact, the preference for a large and muscular ideal male body develops between the ages of 6 and 7 years (Spitzer, Henderson, & Zivian, 1999). For this purpose, the Children's Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) (Maloney, McGuire, & Daniels, 1988) was extended to include questions pertaining to muscle bulk and exercise. As there is little research on whether the nature of problem eating, exercising, and muscle concern are the same for preadolescent boys and girls, the present study firstly examined whether there were gender differences in the factor structure of the modified ChEAT. Secondly, the study examined the utilization of social comparisons and negative affect as indicators of body dissatisfaction and problem eating, exercising, and muscle concerns for boys and girls separately. The study also explored the role of positive affect and included an assessment of BMI. The role of positive affect in determining body dissatisfaction and related behaviors has received no attention in the past. On the other hand, BMI was examined as prior research has found that BMI is the main determinant of body dissatisfaction and problem eating attitudes and behaviors among young children Oliver & Thelen, 1996 and Rolland et al., 1997. It was predicted that high BMI, utilization of social comparison practices, and negative affect would be related to higher levels of body dissatisfaction and problem eating, exercising, and muscle concern among young children. On the other hand, it was predicted that positive affect would be related to lower levels of body dissatisfaction and problem eating, exercising, and muscle concern among young children. Additionally, as social comparisons and negative affect have been found to be closely interrelated, it was expected that social comparisons would be related to higher levels of negative affect and vice versa.

3. Results 3.1. Descriptive data on the modified ChEAT A summary of children's responses to a selection of the 32 items from the modified ChEAT are given in Table 1. Relatively few boys (11.8%) but a fifth of the girls (20.1%) reported, at least sometimes, to having engaged in dieting practices. A greater proportion of children, 37.4% of boys and 40.5% of girls indicated, at least sometimes, that they were scared about being overweight. On the other hand, close to half of the boys (49%) but only about a fifth of the girls (18.7%) indicated that they at least sometimes, think a lot about the muscles on their bodies. Additionally, a large number of boys (84.3%) and girls (57.4%) indicated, at least sometimes, that they exercise to become more muscular. Table 1. Summary of boys' and girls' responses to selected modified ChEAT items Item Boys (at least “sometimes”) (%) Girls (at least “sometimes”) (%) 22. I have been dieting 11.8 20.1 1. I am scared about being overweight 37.4 40.5 10. I think a lot about wanting to be thinner 41.1 43.2 27. I worry about the size of my muscles 29.4 14.1 25. I exercise to become more muscular 84.3 57.4 16. I eat diet foods 48 56.8 31. I think about increasing muscles when I exercise. 56.8 47 28. I think a lot about the muscles on my body 49 18.7 Table options 3.2. Factor structure of the modified ChEAT The factor structure of the modified ChEAT was examined using principal components extraction with oblique rotation for the boys and girls separately, as past studies have found gender differences in problem eating attitudes and behaviors Kelly et al., 1999 and Thomas et al., 2000. Scree plots, communalities values, and factor loadings indicated that a four-factor solution for both boys and girls best described the data. Internal consistencies of each factor, as assessed by Cronbach's alpha, were found to be satisfactory as shown in Table 2 and Table 3. Correlations between the four factors identified for boys were low with the highest being .13 found between Factors 1 and 4. The correlations between the four factors identified for girls were also low with the highest being .27 found between Factors 1 and 4. Table 2 presents the loadings of each item on the four factors reported for boys. A cut-off criterion of .4 was employed to define significant and more important loadings (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, & Black, 1995). Using this criterion, 29 items were found to load significantly on at least one factor for the boys. Factor 1 accounted for 15.68% of the variance and nine items loaded on the factor. These items generally encompassed items pertaining to muscles and exercise. To reflect this items content, Factor 1 was labeled “Muscles and Exercising.” Included were Item 31 “I think about increasing muscles when I exercise,” Item 25 “I exercise to become more muscular,” and Item 11 “I think about burning up energy (calories) when I exercise.” There was only one item loading on this factor that did not fit this pattern, Item 22 “I have been dieting.” Table 2. Factor loadings and descriptive data for the four factors extracted from the modified ChEAT for boys Item 24 was reverse coded to calculate mean and internal consistency. Bolded loadings are those >.4 which is the criterion used to define significant and more important loadings (Hair et al., 1995). Items Factor 1: Muscles and Exercising Factor 2: Binging and Food Preoccupation Factor 3: Social Pressures to Eat and Preoccupations Factor 4: Dieting 31. I think about increasing muscles when I exercise. .81 .08 .03 −.06 25. I exercise to become more muscular. .69 .04 −.13 .04 11. I think about burning up energy (calories) when I exercise. .66 −.26 .06 −.02 28. I think a lot about the muscles on my body. .64 .25 .04 .14 29. I feel bad if I do not exercise a lot. .63 .09 .05 .05 30. I feel guilty when I am not exercising. .58 .06 .14 .08 26. I eat food high in calories in order to increase my muscles. .52 .11 −.06 −.05 27. I worry about the size of my muscles. .45 −.04 .08 −.01 22. I have been dieting. .40 −.33 −.01 .28 20. I give too much time and thought to food. .01 .84 .10 .16 4. I have gone on eating binges where I feel that I might not be able to stop. .04 .77 −.15 −.04 3. I think about food a lot of the time. .16 .70 .08 −.14 17. I think that food controls my life. .11 .68 .02 .06 8. I feel that others would like me to eat more. −.12 −.07 .64 −.03 12. Other people think I am too thin. −.02 −.14 .58 −.09 19. I feel that others pressure me to eat. .02 .14 .50 −.06 1. I am scared about being overweight. .04 .04 .50 .05 13. I think a lot about having fat on my body. .18 .18 .48 .00 32. I am unhappy about the size of my muscles. .38 .08 .46 −.28 10. I think a lot about wanting to be thinner. .13 .03 .45 .25 5. I cut my food into small pieces. .01 −.10 .40 .13 23. I like my stomach to be empty. −.18 .06 .01 .55 2. I stay away from eating when I am hungry. .13 .12 .03 .55 9. I feel very guilty after eating. .23 .26 −.04 .54 15. I stay away from foods with sugar in them. .18 −.09 .13 .53 18. I can show self-control around food. .01 −.35 −.04 .51 7. I try to stay away from foods such as breads, potatoes, and rice. −.21 .42 .03 .50 21. I feel uncomfortable after eating sweets. .17 .09 .25 .49 24. I enjoy trying new rich foods. −.04 .28 .18 −.48 16. I eat diet foods. .29 −.08 −.28 .39 14. I take longer than others to eat my meals. −.22 −.10 .25 .30 6. I am aware of the energy (calorie) content in foods that I eat. .07 −.04 .24 .29 Explained variance (%) 15.68 10.18 7.12 6.43 Items with loadings >.40 9 4 8 8 Mean 25.94 10.01 19.69 18.28 SD 8.70 4.65 6.43 5.69 Cronbach's alpha .81 .79 .63 .66 Table options Factor 2 explained an additional 10.18% of the variance and there were four items loading on this factor. The emphasis on these items was on binging practices and food preoccupation hence, Factor 2 was labeled “Binging and Food Preoccupation.” Examples of items include Item 20 “I give too much time and thought to food,” Item 4 “I have gone on eating binges where I feel that I might not be able to stop,” and Item 3 “I think about food a lot of the time.” Factor 3 explained 7.12% of variance and there were eight items loading on this factor. This factor primarily incorporated items focusing on pressures from others to eat, Item 8 “I feel that others would like me to eat more,” Item 12 “Other people think I am too thin,” and Item 19 “I feel that others pressure me to eat.” The other items with significant loadings were concerned with preoccupations about weight and muscles, Item 1 “I am scared about being overweight” and Item 32 “I am unhappy about the size of my muscles.” The factor was labeled “Social Pressures to Eat and Preoccupations” to reflect the item content. Factor 4 explained an additional 6.43% of variance and there were eight items loading on this factor. Items with significant loadings on this factor pertained to dieting practices and behavior: Item 23 “I like my stomach to be empty,” Item 2 “I stay away from eating when I am hungry,” and Item 9 “I feel guilty after eating.” Thus, Factor 4 was labeled “Dieting.” The one item that was not concerned with dieting, Item 24 “I enjoy trying new rich foods,” had a negative loading on this factor. However, the negative loading is consistent with the factor, as the item describes children who are more likely to avoid new and rich foods. Table 3 presents the loadings of each item on the four factors reported for girls. Using the same cut-off criterion of .4 for boys, 25 items were found to load on at least one factor for the girls. Factor 1 explained 21.28% of the variance and included seven items with significant loadings. The significant loadings primarily highlighted preoccupations with thinness, being overweight, and muscle bulk. Among the items with significant loadings were Item 10 “I think a lot about wanting to be thinner,” Item 13 “I think a lot about having fat on my body,” and Item 1 “I am scared about being overweight.” Factor 1 also included items that incorporated concerns about the size of muscles, Item 32 “I am unhappy about the size of my muscles” and Item 27 “I worry about the size of my muscles.” Therefore, Factor 1 was labeled “Dieting and Muscle Preoccupation.” Table 3. Factor loadings and descriptive data for the four factors extracted from the modified ChEAT for the girls Items 15, 16, 18, and 23 were reverse coded to calculate mean and internal consistency. Bolded loadings are those >.4 which is the criterion used to define significant and more important loadings (Hair et al., 1995). Items Factor 1: Dieting and Muscle Preoccupation Factor 2: Dieting versus Food Preoccupation Factor 3: Social Pressures to Eat Factor 4: Muscles and Exercising 10. I think a lot about wanting to be thinner. .84 .04 −.18 .02 13. I think a lot about having fat on my body. .75 .20 −.14 −.05 1. I am scared about being overweight. .65 −.11 .03 .03 32. I am unhappy about the size of my muscles. .61 −.16 .16 .17 27. I worry about the size of my muscles. .54 −.02 .03 .21 9. I feel very guilty after eating. .54 −.02 .28 .07 29. I feel bad if I do not exercise a lot. .47 −.09 .08 .45 11. I think about burning up energy (calories) when I exercise. .35 .28 .14 .27 22. I have been dieting. .34 .30 .30 .02 5. I cut my food into small pieces. .27 .19 −.07 .16 15. I stay away from foods with sugar in them. .13 .69 −.03 .07 18. I can show self-control around food. .02 .67 .20 −.02 4. I have gone on eating binges where I feel that I might not be able to stop. .27 −.63 .32 −.14 20. I give too much time and thought to food. .45 −.53 .17 .04 3. I think about food a lot of the time. .05 −.51 .05 .09 23. I like my stomach to be empty. .21 .41 .13 .16 16. I eat diet foods. .10 .40 .15 .01 21. I feel uncomfortable after eating sweets. .35 .38 .26 −.21 2. I stay away from eating when I am hungry. .23 .35 .24 .09 19. I feel that others pressure me to eat. .11 .12 .79 −.06 12. Other people think I am too thin. −.15 .01 .73 −.01 8. I feel that others would like me to eat more. −.24 .04 .73 .01 7. I try to stay away from foods such as breads, potatoes, and rice. −.02 .05 .45 .18 17. I think that food controls my life. .17 −.24 .31 .04 14. I take longer than others to eat my meals. .18 −.07 .29 .06 31. I think about increasing muscles when I exercise. .13 −.06 −.07 .84 25. I exercise to become more muscular. .01 .07 −.01 .72 26. I eat food high in calories in order to increase my muscles. −.02 .15 .07 .60 30. I feel guilty when I am not exercising. .23 .11 .01 .58 28. I think a lot about the muscles on my body. .30 −.17 −.07 .50 6. I am aware of the energy (calorie) content in foods that I eat. −.28 .40 .12 .43 Explained variance (%) 21.28 9.59 6.46 6.09 Item with loadings >.40 7 7 4 7 Mean 15.07 24.57 8.93 19.31 SD 6.29 4.69 4.33 6.28 Cronbach's alpha .83 .65 .68 .73 Table options Factor 2 accounted for 9.59% of the variance and included seven items with significant loadings. Factor 2 separated dieting practices from food preoccupation suggesting that girls engaging in dieting practices were the least preoccupied with food and vice versa. Items concerned with dieting practices had positive loadings on this factor (e.g., Item 15 “I stay away from foods with sugar in them” and Item 18 “I can show self-control around food”). On the other hand, items concerned with food preoccupation had negative loadings on this factor (e.g., Item 4 “I have gone on eating binges where I feel that I might not be able to stop” and Item 20 “I give too much time and thought to food”). To describe this separation between dieting practices and food preoccupation, Factor 2 was labeled “Dieting versus Food Preoccupation.” Factor 3 accounted for 6.46% of the variance and comprised four items with significant loadings. The items loading on this factor primarily reflected pressures from others to eat more. Item content included: Item 19 “I feel that others pressure me to eat,” Item 12 “Other people think I am too thin,” and Item 8 “I feel that others would like me to eat more.” As a result, Factor 3 was labeled “Social Pressures to Eat.” Factor 3 also included one item pertaining to dieting practices that parents and adults are likely to discourage, Item 7 “I try to stay away from foods such as breads, potatoes, and rice.” Factor 4 explained 6.09% of the variance and included seven items with significant loadings. Factor 4 incorporated items primarily pertaining to increasing muscle bulk and exercising. The highest loadings included, Item 31 “I think about increasing muscles when I exercise,” Item 25 “I exercise to become more muscular,” and Item 26 “I eat food high in calories in order to increase my muscles.” Factor 4 also included other strategies that are likely to be utilized to increase muscle bulk: Item 24 “I enjoy trying new rich foods” and Item 6 “I am aware of the energy (calorie) content in foods that I eat.” To reflect the item content Factor 4 was labeled “Muscles and Exercising.” 3.3. Descriptive data on other measures A summary of the descriptive data for all other included measures is given in Table 4. This includes Cronbach's alpha reliabilities, means, and standard deviations (SD) for boys and girls. A similar number of boys and girls were dissatisfied with their body, however more boys desired a heavier ideal body size (28.6% and 17.2% boys and girls, respectively), while more girls preferred a thinner ideal body size (33.5% and 44.4% boys and girls, respectively). Only 3.9% of boys and 2.2% of girls thought they were fat, while 14.7% of boys and 14.9% of girls thought they were skinny. A similar number of boys and girls wanted to lose weight (21.6% and 25.4% boys and girls, respectively). However, very few wanted to gain weight (7.8% and 6% boys and girls, respectively). On the other hand, the majority of boys, 77.5%, wanted to gain muscle as compared to 23.9% of girls. Only a small number of children wanted to lose muscle (2% and 4.5% boys and girls, respectively). Finally, a similar proportion of boys and girls reported engaging in social comparison practices; however, more boys reported engaging in social comparison practices with adults (29.4% and 23.1% boys and girls, respectively) and more girls reported engaging in social comparison practices with children (32.3% and 34.3% boys and girls, respectively). Table 4. Descriptive data (internal consistency, means, and SD) for body dissatisfaction, BMI, Social Comparison Scales, and negative and positive affect for boys and girls Measures Cronbach's alpha Means (SD) Boys Girls Boys Girls Body dissatisfaction – – 0.06 (0.85) 0.21 (0.73) BMI – – 16.88 (2.48) 17.30 (2.78) Social Comparison Scale Adult subscale .84 .83 12.90 (4.93) 12.88 (4.48) Children subscale .86 .83 13.23 (5.17) 12.60 (4.30) PANAS-C Negative affect .75 .81 17.59 (5.96) 17.36 (6.10) Positive affect .78 .78 28.80 (7.88) 30.84 (7.34) Table options A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to examine whether there were any overall gender differences on body dissatisfaction, BMI, social comparison practices with adults, social comparison practices with children, positive affect, and negative affect. Results indicated that there were no overall differences among boys and girls scores on the set of dependent variables. 3.4. Indicators of the modified ChEAT factors and body dissatisfaction Standard multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the indicators of the four modified ChEAT factors and body dissatisfaction for boys and girls. The examined independent variables were grade, BMI, utilization of social comparisons with adults, utilization of social comparison practices with children, negative affect, and positive affect. To control for Type 1 error rate due to the large number of standard multiple regression analyses conducted, alpha was set at .01. A summary of these findings is given in Table 5 and Table 6. Table 5. Summary of multiple regression analyses examining BMI, positive and negative emotionality, utilization of social comparisons as predictors of body dissatisfaction, and modified ChEAT factors for boys Predictors Muscles and Exercising Binging and Food Preoccupation Social Pressures to Eat and Preoccupations Dieting Body Dissatisfaction R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr .37* .19* .29* .14 .22* Grade −.10 −.09 −.14 −.14 −.07 −.07 −.08 −.08 .03 .03 BMI .04 .04 −.02 −.02 −.17 −.16 .03 .03 .54 .52* Social comparisons Adults .38 .29* .06 .04 .29 .22* .32 .25* −.06 −.04 Children .23 .17 .11 .08 .17 .13 .03 .02 .01 .01 Negative affect .05 .05 .36 .36 .23 .24* −.16 −.15 −.12 −.12 Positive affect .08 .08 −.00 −.00 −.26 −.25* −.11 −.12 −.06 −.06 * p<.01. Table options Table 6. Summary of multiple regression analyses examining BMI, positive and negative emotionality, utilization of social comparisons as predictors of body dissatisfaction, and modified ChEAT factors for girls Predictors Dieting and Muscle Preoccupation Dieting versus Food Preoccupation Social Pressures to Eat Muscles and Exercising Body Dissatisfaction R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr R2 Beta sr .39* .08 .25* .16* .24* Grade .07 .07 .07 .07 .01 .01 .03 .03 .10 .10 BMI .20 .19* −.02 −.02 −.38 −.37* −.02 −.02 .45 .44* Social comparisons Adults .37 .25* .29 .20 −.08 −.05* .21 .14 .09 .06 Children .15 .10 −.30 −.20 .34 .24* .07 .05 .06 .04 Negative affect .20 .19* .09 .08 .06 .06 −.18 −.17 .01 .01 Positive affect −.05 −.05 −.15 −.15 −.11 −.11 .11 .11 .08 .08 * p<.01. Table options The examined independent variables were found to explain a significant amount of variance in four of the five dependent variables for boys: 36.7% in Muscles and Exercising, F(6,95)=9.20, p<.001; 19.2% in Binging and Food Preoccupation, F(6,95)=3.77, p<.001; 28.5% in Social Pressures to Eat and Preoccupations, F(6,95)=6.31, p<.001; and 22.2% in Body Dissatisfaction, F(6,95)=4.51, p<.001. The main unique correlate, demonstrating predominantly small to moderate effects, was utilization of social comparisons with adults (Cohen, 1992). Boys engaging in social comparison practices with adults were more likely to experience muscle and exercising concerns, social pressures to eat and preoccupations, and dieting practices. Boys with a high BMI were more likely to engage in and experience body dissatisfaction. Boys exhibiting negative affect were more likely to engage in binging and food preoccupation practices and experienced more social pressure to eat. Finally, boys exhibiting positive affect were less likely to experience social pressures to eat and preoccupations. The examined independent variables were found to explain a significant amount of variance in four of the five dependent variables for girls: 39.4% in Dieting and Muscle Preoccupation, F(6,127)=13.79, p<.001; 25.1% in Social Pressures to Eat, F(6,127)=7.08, p<.001; 16.4% in Muscles and Exercising, F(6,127)=4.15, p<.001; and 23.9% in Body Dissatisfaction for girls, F(6,127)=6.63, p<.001. The main unique correlate, producing predominantly small to moderate effects, was BMI (Cohen, 1992). Girls with a high BMI were more likely to exhibit dieting and muscle preoccupation and body dissatisfaction. Girls with a low BMI were more likely to experience social pressures to eat. Girls exhibiting negative affect were more likely to engage in dieting and muscle preoccupation. Girls engaging in social comparison practices with adults were more likely to engage in dieting and muscle preoccupation. Finally, girls engaging in social comparison practices with children were more likely to experience social pressures to eat. 3.5. Examination of the relationship between social comparisons and negative affect A greater proportion of girls (14.9%) than boys (6.6%) indicated that they felt negative about their own bodies when comparing their bodies with teenagers or adults of the same sex. Moreover, a greater proportion of girls (23.9%) than boys (18.6%) reported that they felt positive about their own bodies when comparing their bodies with teenagers or adults of the same sex. A greater proportion of girls (20.9%) than boys (3.9%) also indicated that they felt negative about their own bodies when comparing their bodies with other children of the same sex. A similar proportion of boys and girls (20.6% and 17.2%) indicated that they felt positive about their own bodies when comparing their bodies to other children of the same sex. Pearson correlations were examined in order to evaluate the relationship between utilization of social comparison practices and negative affect in both boys and girls. There was a low positive correlation (r=.27, p<.01) between utilization of social comparison practices with adults and negative affect for girls. Additionally, there was a low positive correlation (r=.26, p<.01) between utilization of social comparison practices with children and negative affect for girls. However, neither of these relationships was significant for boys.