UMass Worcester PRC Publications

Title

The contribution of school environmental factors to individual and school variation in disordered weight control behaviors in a statewide sample of middle schools

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine

Publication Date

2013-02-19

Document Type

Article

Subjects

Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Behavior Control; Body Weight; Child; Child Behavior; Eating Disorders; Female; Health Behavior; Humans; Male; *Schools; Self Report; *Social Environment; Students

Disciplines

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Community Health | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Pediatrics | Public Health | Public Health Education and Promotion

Abstract

We investigated the contribution of school environmental factors to individual and school variation in disordered weight control behaviors (DWCB). Analyses were based on self-report data gathered from 18,567 middle-school students in 2005 and publicly available data on school characteristics. We observed large differences across schools in percent of students engaging in DWCB in the past month, ranging from less than 1% of the student body to 12%. School-neighborhood poverty was associated with higher odds of DWCB in boys. Preventive strategies need to account for wide variability across schools and environmental factors that may contribute to DWCB in early adolescence.

DOI of Published Version

10.1080/10640266.2013.761080

Source

Austin SB, Richmond TK, Spadano-Gasbarro J, Greaney ML, Blood EA, Walls C, Wang ML, Mezgebu S, Osganian SK, Peterson KE. The contribution of school environmental factors to individual and school variation in disordered weight control behaviors in a statewide sample of middle schools. Eat Disord. 2013;21(2):91-108. doi: 10.1080/10640266.2013.761080. Link to article on publisher's site

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Eating disorders

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

23421693

Link to Full Text

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