Birgitta Edlund

Eating behaviours and attitudes to eating, dieting, and body image in 7-year-old Swedish girls.

Eating behaviours and attitudes to eating, dieting and body image were studied in 7-year-old Swedish girls. Sixty-four girls were eligible and 50 participated in individual interviews based on the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) modified for children, the Childrens Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT), and a demographic and dieting questionnaire. Subjects also completed a questionnaire estimating their body size. A total of 28 per cent wanted to be thinner, 22 per cent reported that they had tried to lose weight and 20 per cent admitted that they ate less with the purpose of losing weight. The girls who stated that they had tried to lose weight showed significantly higher ChEAT and DEBQ scores and estimated themselves to be significantly larger than those who had not. The results indicate that one-quarter of 7-year-old girls have concerns regarding their body weight and that they make attempts to lose weight.

Attitudes to food, eating and dieting behaviour in 11 and 14-year-old Swedish children

Edlund B, Hallqvist G, Sjödén P‐O. Attitudes to food, eating and dieting behaviour in 11 and 14‐year‐old Swedish children. Acta Pædiatr 1994;83:572–7. Stockholm. ISSN 0803–5253

Family stress and BMI in young children

Aim:  The aim of this study was to investigate if family stress and parental attachment style are associated with body mass index (BMI) in young children, and identify possible explanations.

Psychological correlates of dieting in Swedish adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Psychological factors associated with self-reported dieting behaviour and disordered eating were studied in 10–16-year-old Swedish students. A total of 458 girls and boys were eligible and 401 students completed the data collection. The study employed the Childrens Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT), the Eating Disorders Inventory for Children (EDI-C), a questionnaire for the estimation of body size and a demographic and dieting questionnaire including a question about teasing. Dieters of both sexes scored significantly higher than non-dieters on six of the EDI-C subscales indicting more feelings of body dissatisfaction and ineffectiveness, a lesser awareness of interoceptive signals, less impulse regulation and more social insecurity. Dieters also reported that they had been teased because of their appearance more often than did the non-dieters. The results suggest that such psychological factors may precede the development of clinical eating disorders. Copyright

Parental stress in early parenthood among mothers and fathers in Sweden.

BACKGROUND Parental stress affects parenting behaviour and the quality of dyadic parent-child interactions. Mothers generally show higher parental stress than fathers. AIMS Our aims were to assess the perceived level of parental stress in early parenthood and examine the differences between mothers and fathers within couples in relation to their levels of education, parental experience, existence of a parental role model and sense of coherence. METHODS In total, 307 mothers and 301 fathers of 18-month-old children answered the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ); and 318 mothers and 311 fathers answered the Sense of Coherence (SOC-3) scale; 283 couples answered both the SPSQ and SOC-3. RESULTS Mothers perceived higher levels of stress than fathers in the sub-areas incompetence (p < 0.001), role restriction (p < 0.001), spouse relationship problems (p = 0.004) and health problems (p = 0.027), and in total (p = 0.001). In contrast, fathers perceived higher stress than mothers in the sub-area social isolation (p < 0.001). When the data were stratified with respect to education, parental experience, existence of a parental role model and sense of coherence, significant results were observed in some of these sub-areas. CONCLUSIONS Mothers and fathers experience stress in different areas during their early parenthood. Healthcare professionals should be aware of the differences in stress that exist between mothers and fathers, so that parents can be adequately prepared for parenthood and avoid parental stress.

Psychometric properties of Eating Disorder Inventory for children (EDI-C) in Swedish girls with and without a known eating disorder

Objective: To evaluate the Swedish version of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-C) for the internal consistency, factor structure and ability to discriminate between adolescent girls with and without a known eating disorder (ED). Methods: Completely answered EDI-C questionnaires were available from 201 girls diagnosed with an ED and from 2073 schoolgirls. The girls were adolescents attending grade 7–12. Results: Internal consistency was 0.70–0.91 for the ED group. Eleven factors with eigenvalue >2.2 explained 56% of the variance and showed satisfying correspondence to the proposed constructs of EDI-C. A discriminant analysis classified 85.6% of the cases correctly. The three most important discriminating subscales were Drive for Thinness, Asceticism and Body Dissatisfaction. All subscales except Maturity Fears showed significantly higher mean values for the ED group. Conclusions: The results indicate that the psychometric properties of EDI-C are comparable to the properties of EDI-2. EDI-C should be preferred for adolescents since its statements suit this age group.

Risk and protective factors for disturbed eating in adolescent girls : aspects of perfectionism and attitudes to eating and weight

The aim of this study was to longitudinally examine the role of personal standards, self-evaluation, perceived benefits of thinness and attitudes to eating and weight in the development of healthy versus disturbed eating in adolescent girls. In a longitudinal study, girls who participated in two assessments, four to five years apart, were divided into three groups according to the attitudes to eating that they manifested at the second evaluation: those with disturbed eating patterns (DE-group, n = 49), those with intermediate concerns about eating (IE-group, n = 260) and those with healthy eating attitudes (HE-group, n = 120). Variables concerning attitudes to eating and weight and physical self-evaluation emerged as risk factors, whereas personal standards or self-evaluation in general did not. Protective factors were a low BMI, healthy eating attitudes, an accepting attitude towards body size and a positive self-evaluation, particularly with regard to physical and psychological characteristics. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of early risk and protective factors for eating disturbances in girls.

Association between mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms, sense of coherence and perception of their child’s temperament in early parenthood in Sweden

Aims: To examine whether there was any association between mothers’ and fathers’ post-partum depressive symptoms and sense of coherence and perception of their child’s temperament. The hypotheses were that parents with depressive symptoms: 1) have more often a poor sense of coherence, and 2) perceive their child’s temperament to be more difficult than parents without depressive symptoms. Methods: A total of 401 Swedish-speaking couples, who were the parents of children born through the years 2004–2006 in the northern part of the county of Västmanland, Sweden, were invited to participate in the study. The parents answered 3 questionnaires including: at inclusion of the study: demographic data (n = 393 couples); at 3 months: the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the Sense of Coherence Scale (n = 308 couples); and at 18 months: the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire (n = 272 couples). Results: Depressive symptoms measured at 3 months, were reported by 17.7% of mothers and 8.7% of fathers, and correlated significantly between mothers and fathers within couples (rho = 0.165, p = 0.003). Mothers and fathers with depressive symptoms had a poorer sense of coherence (p < 0.001, p < 0.001) and perceived their child’s temperament as more difficult than mothers and fathers without depressive symptoms at 3 (p = 0.028, p < 0.001) and 18 months (p = 0.145, p = 0.012 respectively). Conclusions : Early parenthood has been studied thoroughly in mothers, but few studies have included fathers. Identifying problems in early parenthood could help predict later problems exhibited by the preschool child, which might be prevented by supportive programmes.

‘Children are exposed to temptation all the time’– parents’ lifestyle‐related discussions in focus groups

Aim:  To explore parents’ perspectives on providing their preschool child with a healthy lifestyle, including obstacles and resources.

Anthropometry, body composition and body image in dieting and non-dieting 8-16-year-old Swedish girls

Anthropometry, body composition and body image were studied in 122 Swedish 8‐16‐y‐old girls and their parents. The subjects participated in a 3‐y prospective longitudinal study and were selected randomly after stratification for grades from those scoring in the upper vs. the lower thirds of the Childrens Eating Attitudes Test (ChEAT) score distribution. The ChEAT was completed 6 mo before the present study together with a demographic and dieting questionnaire and a questionnaire for the estimation of body size. In total 43%(n = 52) admitted ever dieting (“Dieters”) and 25%(n = 30) admitted that they were currently trying to lose weight. The anthropometric and body composition data indicated that ChEAT High‐scorers and Dieters were somewhat fatter than Low‐scorers and Non‐dieters, although this pattern was not shown among the 8‐y‐olds or the 14‐y‐olds (High‐scorers). The mothers of the ChEAT High‐scorers were found to be somewhat fatter than the other mothers. A current vs.ideal body shape discrepancy was shown for both High‐scorers and Dieters, with a larger discrepancy for the Dieters. All groups believed that their parents were aspiring for a leaner body. □Anthropometry, body composition, dieting behaviour, schoolgirls