Donna R. White

Body-esteem scale for adolescents and adults.

Body esteem (BE) refers to self-evaluations of ones body or appearance. This article outlines a BE questionnaire for adolescents and adults that has 3 subscales: BE-Appearance (general feelings about appearance), BE-Weight (weight satisfaction), and BE-Attribution (evaluations attributed to others about ones body and appearance). The subscales have high internal consistency and 3-month test-retest reliability. Females scored lower than males on BE-Weight and BE-Appearance. BE-Weight was the only subscale uniquely related to weight, especially in females, with heavy individuals tending to be dissatisfied with their weight. BE-Appearance was the only subscale that consistently predicted self-esteem. BE-Appearance and BE-Weight covaried more with Neeman and Harters (1986) Appearance subscale than with other self-esteem subscales; BE-Attribution covaried more with social self-esteem subscales than did BE-Appearance and BE-Weight.

Interpersonal influence and disordered eating behaviors in adolescent girls: The role of peer modeling, social reinforcement, and body-related teasing

This study investigated the association between interpersonal relationships, eating behaviors, and body esteem in a sample of adolescent girls. Participants included 876 girls who completed questionnaires regarding body esteem, eating behavior, peer pressure, and interpersonal relationships. Peer pressure was a strong predictor of eating behavior and body esteem after controlling for interpersonal variables. High externalized self-perceptions, self-reported teasing, and attributions about the importance of weight and shape for popularity and dating were important predictors of both body esteem and eating behavior. Also, girls who were nominated as popular by peers were more likely to engage in disordered eating and have lower body esteem. Results highlight the need for eating disorder prevention at the level of the peer group. Programs should focus on decreasing pressure to be thin, acceptance by peers for attributes other than appearance, and combating weight- and shape-related teasing within the school system.

Relation between body-esteem and self-esteem of obese and normal children.

36 elementary school children (20 subjects were below and 16 subjects above 15% overweight) completed a self-esteem and body-esteem questionnaire. The Body-esteem Scale was reliable and suitable for children as young as 7 yr. Body-esteem shared a significant amount of variance with self-esteem and percentage overweight. Although body-esteem and relative weight were correlated, self-esteem and relative weight were not significantly related. Furthermore, body-esteem and self-esteem were not differentially related for 20 normals versus 16 obese children in this sample.

Gender, Ethnic, and Body Type Biases: The Generality of Prejudice in Childhood

From a very young age, children show signs of prejudice. However, it is not clear whether those who are the most biased in one domain (e.g., gender) are also the most biased in other domains (e.g., ethnicity). This study addressed the issue using multiple measures of prejudice (negative bias) in 3 domains: gender (male, female), ethnicity-language (French Canadian, English Canadian), and body type (overweight, normal weight). The flexibility of attitudes (i.e., the belief that people from different categories can possess similar traits) was also assessed. A total of 254 children (127 boys, 127 girls) in kindergarten to Grade 6 participated. Children demonstrated clear biases against groups to which they did not belong, although attitudes became more flexible and prejudice declined somewhat with age. There was little predictive power across domains; that is, there was no evidence that prejudice represents a general characteristic that differentiates children.

Adolescents' weight, sex, and family functioning

The study explored family functioning with adolescents of varying weight. The participants were 572 adolescents (286 boys and 286 girls) (M = 15.7 years, SD = 1.04) who comprised four weight groups: underweight (less than 90% expected weight), normal weight (90 to 110%), overweight (111 to 125%), and obese (over 125%). They completed 9 of the 15 subscales of the Self-Report Measure of Family Functioning pertaining to family styles (e.g., Authoritarian) and relationships (e.g., Conflict, Enmeshment). Obese girls rated their families lower on Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Democratic Family Style. Obese and moderately overweight girls seem to perceive their families differently. Obese and overweight boys did not differ from normal weight boys on any of the measures. There was a tendency for underweight boys to report lower Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Democratic Family Style. The need to consider family environment, particularly the familys differing expectations for obese daughters and underweight sons, is discussed with reference to treatment.

Performance of overweight and normal-weight girls on delay of gratification tasks

The purpose of the present study was to compare overweight and nonover- weight girls on each of three dimensions of self-control: ability to delay gratification, behavioral strategies used to delay gratification, and preference for delay of gratification. Subjects were 36 middle-class girls, 5 to 9 years of age. Half the sample was overweight according to height/weight norms adjusted for age and the judgment of trained observers; half the subjects were normal weight according to the same indicators. Subjects were assigned to one of two reward conditions—food or nonfood—and tested on ability to delay. Subjects were videotaped during the delay period and delay behaviors were analyzed. The preference for small immediate versus larger delayed rewards was assessed by questionnaire. Results indicated that overweight and normal-weight girls did not differ in their ability to delay gratification or in preference for delayed rewards. However, overweight girls employed less effective self-control strategies than did control subjects. This finding is discussed in terms of implications for development and treatment of obesity.

Conservation Skills: A Replicated Study of Order of Acquisition across Tasks

Abstract Developmental patterns in conservation skills were examined in four samples of children (N = 390) 4 to 11 years of age. Judgments of conservation and explanations were elicited for seven conservation tasks assessing concepts from number to volume (adapted from Goldschmid & Bentler 1968a). Across all ages and samples, judgment-only and judgment-plus-explanation scores were highly correlated. Explanations provided little additional information on level of conservation skill. The greatest increment in conservation skill occurred between kindergarten and Grade 1, with some further increase between Grades 1 and 3 or 4. Order of acquisition of number, area, and volume were consistent in all samples, with number easiest and volume hardest. Conservation of substance, discontinuous quantity, continuous quantity and weight were always more difficult than area and easier than volume, but there was no evidence of consistent differences in difficulty among the matter and weight tasks. These findings confirm t...

VERBAL FACTORS IN VISUAL RECOGNITION MEMORY OF POOR READERS

This study examined the role of verbal factors in visual learning and recognition of 36 good and 36 poor readers of normal intelligence. These second and third grade boys studied 3 sets of paired-associates in which pictorial stimuli were paired with letters, geometric designs, or abstract shapes. Recognition memory was assessed. Verbal factors measured were knowledge of names of letters and shapes, latency to label production, and verbal mediational strategies. Poor readers did not differ from good readers on any of the measures of verbal processing. Letters, geometric designs, and abstract shapes differed from one another on latency to production of labels or verbal codability. Poor readers performed significantly more poorly than good readers on the recognition task regardless of the codability of the stimuli. These findings are consistent with a perceptual deficit view of visual recognition problems of young boys who are poor readers.

Verbal and Nonverbal Abilities in English First and Second Language Children

This study examined verbal and nonverbal abilities in Italian children for whom English is a second language and monolingual English controls. Subjects were 64 of the two-language children and 33 monolingual children attending English kindergarten in middle class areas. In November the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was administered, and in May of the same school year, the alternate form of the Peabody and the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices were administered. The two-language children performed significantly more poorly on the picture vocabulary test in November and May than controls. However, they did improve Peabody scores significantly between November and May. There was no significant difference between the two-language groups on the Raven Matrices. When socioeconomic level is controlled, a relatively culture-free test is selected, and these two-language children are culturally assimilated, deficiencies in nonverbal skills may not be found.

Causes and Effects of Obesity

It is often said, “You are what you eat.” One interpretation of this aphorism is that weight is determined by the amount eaten. If this were true, then the cause, and, by implication, the treatment, of obesity would be quite simple: eat less. In fact, many individuals treat themselves for obesity quite successfully using this method (Schacter, 1982). In other cases, however, obesity proves more difficult to deal with and many therapists are confronted with clients who have found it impossible to lose weight on their own.