Developing anorexia nervosa in adolescence: the role of self-image as a risk factor in a prevalence study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence risk for developing anorexia nervosa (AN) in a very wide sample of adolescents aged 15–19 years, obtaining a psychological profile of these at-risk subjects, as assessed by the Italian Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ). Method: Data were extracted from ESPAD-Italia^®2005 database (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs). The study (17,866 adolescents, 15–19 years old; 47.8% males), also evaluated gender, age, weight, height and Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26). The OSIQ psychometric qualities were evaluated. Multinomial analysis assessed self-image risk of AN association. Results: Adolescents at risk approached 1.4% (2.2% of girls and 0.5% of boys); 19- and 17-year-old females exhibited a higher prevalence. Overall adolescent risk included: impulse control, family relationships and psychopathology. Critical areas in the AN developing showed age and gender differences: body image for younger females, impulse control for the older, psychopathology for young males and sexual attitudes for the older represented the poorer adjustment dimensions. Discussion: Results support screening procedures and tailored school-based prevention.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• school survey
• self-image
• anorexia nervosa

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Fabio Mariani (Institute of Clinical Physiology of the Italian National Research Council), Michael Liebman (IPQ Analytics, Media, PA, USA) and Mario Grassi (University of Pavia, Italy) for their helpful comments and suggestions, and Alison Frank for the proofreading.

Funding

Funding for this study was provided by the Ministry of Welfare and Ministry of Education; the funder had no further role in study design, in collection, analysis and interpretation of data, in the writing of the report, or in the decision to submit the paper for publication. The authors report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.