Henri Chabrol

Parental attitudes, body image disturbance and disordered eating amongst adolescents and young adults: a review.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this paper was to review the existing literature regarding the contribution of parental influences to the sociocultural pressures on body image disturbance and disordered eating so as to highlight principal findings so that parents can be given practical information and identify areas that require further research. METHODS Relevant articles were located through Pubmed, Sciencedirect and PsychInfo, as well as the screening of bibliographies. RESULTS The available data suggest that parents are strong communicators of sociocultural pressures. Parental influences via verbal messages and active encouragement have been shown to have more impact on offsprings body concerns and eating behaviours than modelling effects. Both mothers and fathers are important sources of influence for their offspring. CONCLUSION Considering the role of parents could help improve public health management. Futher exploration of the way adolescents and young adults interpret and perceive parental attitudes and of potential protective factors is necessary.

Detecting women at risk for postnatal depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale at 2 to 3 days postpartum

Objective: This study evaluates the capacity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) implemented in the first days postpartum to detect women who will suffer from postnatal depression. Method: A sample of 1154 women completed the EPDS at 2 to 3 days postpartum and again at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. Results: There was a highly significant positive correlation between EPDS scores on both occasions (Spearman rank correlation: r = 0.59, P < 0.0001). The cut-off scores of 10 and 11 for EPDS administered at 2 to 3 days obtained good specificity, sensitivity, and positive predictive values for the cut-off scores proposed for the diagnosis of postnatal depression at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. Conclusion: The EPDS completed at 2 to 3 days postpartum is a useful means of detecting women at risk of postnatal depression.

Effects of parental comments on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adults: A sociocultural model

This study examined a sociocultural model of the influence of parental comments on body shape and eating concerns among males and females. Questionnaires were completed by 338 undergraduates. Participants reported levels of perceived parental comments, internalization of media ideals, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness and bulimia. Results revealed that, regardless of gender, internalization and appearance comparison only partially mediated the relationship between parental comments and the outcome variables. The final model for females explained a larger proportion of the variability in body shape and eating concerns than in males, with positive and negative parental comments directly related to body dissatisfaction and through it to eating outcomes. In males, only negative comments were directly related to body dissatisfaction. These findings highlight the role of parental influences in sociocultural models of the development of body dissatisfaction and eating concerns, and the gender-specific patterns of sociocultural influence.

An exploration of the tripartite influence model of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating among Australian and French college women

The aim of the study was to compare levels of body dissatisfaction, disordered eating and risk factors, and to examine the tripartite influence model of body image and eating disturbance among French and Australian young adult females. Participants were 188 Australian (mean age=19.6 years, SD=1.0) and 190 French (mean age=20.7 years, SD=2.6) students. Media, peer and family influences, internalisation of media ideals, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, bulimia and self-esteem were assessed. Australian participants reported perceiving more peer and media influence, and higher levels of appearance comparison, internalisation of media ideals and bulimic symptoms than French participants (p<.001). Path analyses revealed that the tripartite model was a good fit in both samples, with similarities and differences. Findings suggest the importance of identifying cultural specificities, and developing a global framework of body image and eating disturbance with a view to prevention.

Frequency of borderline personality disorder in a sample of French high school students.

Objective: To estimate the frequency of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in French high school students. Method: A random sample of high school students (n = 1363) ranging in age from 13 to 20 years agreed to complete a questionnaire, the Screening Test for Comorbid Personality Disorders (STCPD); 107 of them volunteered to be interviewed. We assessed this group using the Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R). We conducted a regression analysis to determine a cut-off for BPD diagnosis with the STCPD. Results: We estimated the overall frequency of BPD to be 10% for boys and 18% for girls. After a peak of frequency at age 14 years for both sexes, the frequency increased significantly again in late adolescence. Conclusion: This study found a high frequency of BPD in French adolescents, which adds to questions regarding the validity of diagnosing this disorder in adolescents.

Étude de validation de la version française du body shape questionnaire

Resume Le but de l’etude est l’adaptation, en langue francaise, d’un questionnaire anglosaxon d’insatisfaction corporelle : Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ, Cooper et al., 1987) et de tester sa fidelite et sa validite concourante sur un echantillon de 242 etudiantes. Les relations entre les categories de poids et l’insatisfaction corporelle et les facteurs issus de l’analyse factorielle ont ete explorees.Nous avons procede au calcul des coefficients alpha, a un test de fiabilite test-retest et a une analyse factorielle. La validite concourante du BSQ a ete evaluee a partir de la comparaison avec un autre test : l’Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI, Garner et Olmsted, 1984). Enfin, des analyses statistiques inferentielles (Anova) ont ete realisees.Les coefficients alpha relatifs au test/retest du BSQ sont eleves (0,95/0,94) ainsi que ceux pour le test/retest de l’EDI (0,85/0,84). Ces resultats mettent en evidence une tres bonne consistance interne des 2 instruments. L’analyse factorielle en composantes principales suggere une solution a 4 facteurs : evitement et honte sociale de l’exposition du corps, insatisfaction corporelle par rapport aux parties inferieures du corps, usage de laxatifs et de vomissements pour reduire l’insatisfaction corporelle, cognitions et comportements inadaptes afin de controler le poids. Ces 4 facteurs expliquent 55,2 % de la variance totale. Les analyses statistiques inferentielles ont mis en evidence une relation significative entre la categorie de poids et le score total au BSQ et entre la categorie de poids et le score sous les facteurs 1, 2 et 4.La version francaise du BSQ se presente comme un instrument ayant de bonnes qualites metrologiques. Il permettrait d’explorer le role d’une preoccupation excessive de l’apparence du corps dans le developpement, le maintien et le traitement des troubles du comportement alimentaire.

Acceptability of psychotherapy and antidepressants for postnatal depression among newly delivered mothers

Although some studies suggest the efficacy of psychotherapy or antidepressant drugs for postnatal depression, their acceptability has not been extensively studied. Four hundred and five women consecutively admitted in obstetrical clinics were questioned about acceptability of treatments for postnatal depression using a repeated measures design after delivery, during their stay at the clinic. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing the degree of acceptability of different therapies for postnatal depression before and after receiving information about the current knowledge on antidepressant for postnatal depression and breastfeeding. The different therapies proposed were: psychotherapy by consultation, psychotherapy by home visits and antidepressant medication. The acceptability of antidepressants was significantly lower than either mode of psychotherapy before information was presented about the effects of antidepressants on breastmilk and significantly more so again after the information was given to mothers.

The measurement of Internet addiction

We present an exhaustive review of existing Internet addiction scales.Fourty-five tools assessing Internet addiction were identified.Most of the existing scales for Internet addiction require further validation work.We discuss the psychometric properties of the most validated ones. Internet addiction is a recently recognized disorder which has received increasing attention worldwide over the past two decades. This focus has led to the development of several screening tools measuring different aspects of Internet use, and more particularly Internet addiction. However, a synthesis of the information regarding the validity and usefulness of these different scales is lacking and would help inform researchers and clinicians in their choice of measures when assessing for Internet addiction. The main goal of this study was therefore to identify all the existing measures of Internet addiction and to review the psychometric properties of the most frequently used ones. Five electronic databases were searched using the key words: internet use disorder, Internet addiction, problematic internet use, pathologic internet use, cyber dependence, and scale, test, questionnaire, tool, assessment and inventory. Forty-five tools assessing Internet addiction were identified, of which only seventeen had been evaluated more than once in terms of their psychometric properties. Most of the existing scales for Internet addiction require further validation work but some of them already demonstrate promising psychometric properties. Given the interest in this phenomenon, it seems important for the field to promote the use of validated and well-established measures.

Pregnancy after perinatal loss: association of grief, anxiety and attachment

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the psychological experience of pregnancy after a previous perinatal loss and to bring to light the risk factors of psychological distress and disorders in instituting antenatal attachment with the subsequent child. Methods: 96 pregnant women, having experienced a previous perinatal loss answered several questionnaires which measured the feelings of perinatal grief (PGS), anxio‐depressive symptomatology (HADS), acceptance of pregnancy, identification with the maternal role (PSEQ) and perinatal attachment (MAAS). The control group included 74 women with no experience of perinatal loss. Results: Women having suffered from perinatal loss reported significantly higher scores of grief and anxio‐depressive symptoms compared to the control group. These variables were significant predictors of prenatal attachment. Conclusion: Findings reveal the intense psychological distress during pregnancy following a perinatal loss and underscore the need for psychosocial and clinical care when there is a perinatal loss, care that should be extended up to the birth of the subsequent child.

Drive for muscularity and disordered eating among French adolescent boys: a sociocultural model.

The pursuit of muscularity is an important body image concern among boys which has been described within sociocultural models of risk for eating disorders. This study explored a sociocultural model of disordered eating in which drive for thinness and pursuit of muscularity were both pathways to disordered eating among French adolescent boys. A sample of 146 adolescents completed a questionnaire assessing drive for thinness, drive for muscularity, media-ideal internalization, appearance comparison, and sociocultural pressure. The model was a good fit to the data and both drive for thinness and the pursuit of muscularity were related to disordered eating. Furthermore, internalization and appearance comparison mediated the relationships between pressure to increase muscle and both drive for muscularity and drive for thinness. Longitudinal research could help clarify the role of the pursuit of muscularity in the development of disordered eating and extreme body shape changing behaviors.