Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Eating Disorder Risk Factors: A Prospective Analysis, Anne C. Dobmeyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The current study examined whether elevations on four variables (drive for thinness, depressed mood, maladaptive cognitions, and ineffectiveness) were related to increased risk of developing an eating disorder over a 4-year prospective interval. Subjects (N = 191) were female undergraduates who were assessed with the Anorexia-Bulimia Inventory (ABI), Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), and a structured clinical interview.

Results indicated that individuals with elevated scores on each of the four variables at the initial assessment did not show higher absolute eating disorder incidence rates over the 4-year interval. However, initial scores on the four variables together explained approximately 13% of both …