Navigation
Temperament in preadolescence is associated with weight and eating pathology in young adulthood
The aim of this 2020 study was to determine whether temperament in pre-adolescence has an impact on development of eating pathology and body weight in adolescence and young adulthood. Data was extracted from the Dutch community cohort study, TRAILS (Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey), in which 2,230 participants were enrolled. When the subjects were 11 years old, the revised Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire was used to measure their negative affectivity and effortful control. At age 19, the young adults were screened for eating disorders based on a two-stage system, including interviews conducted by eating disorder experts, while their level of eating pathology was assessed at age 22 and 26 by employing the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale. Body mass index (BMI) was measured at all assessment waves. The results showed a link between increased negative affectivity during pre-adolescence with higher BMI and eating pathology during young adulthood. While no association was found between effortful control in pre-adolescence and eating pathology in later life, lower effortful control measured at 11 years old correlated with higher risk of obesity in young adulthood. Van Eeden et al. (2020) declared that both negative affectivity and effortful control can influence the development of weight/eating problems.[NPID: personality, temperament, eating pathology, negative affect, affect, adolescence, disordered eating]
Year: 2020
