The present study examined the role of attachment toward mother and father as a predictor of eating pathology and weight gain among preadolescent boys and girls. Self-report questionnaires and adjusted body mass index (BMI) were administered from a community sample of 601 preadolescents (8-11 years; 48% female) at baseline and once again 1 year later. Significant baseline associations were found between attachment toward both parents and several features of eating pathology. No baseline correlations were found between the attachment variables and adjusted BMI. However, after controlling for gender and baseline levels of eating pathology and weight, an insecure attachment toward mother significantly predicted increases in dietary restraint, eating concerns, weight concerns, and shape concerns, and adjusted BMI in the children 1 year later. An insecure attachment toward father was predictive for persistence in children's subjective binge eating episodes. The present study provides preliminary evidence for the longitudinal association between attachment and eating pathology and weight gain in preadolescents. Moreover, attachment toward mother and attachment toward father appear to be differently associated with their children's disordered eating attitudes and adjusted BMI. Future research should further elucidate the mechanisms underlying this differential association.

No abstract

Although the field of emotion regulation in children and adolescents is growing, there is need for age-adjusted measures that assess a large variety of strategies. An interesting instrument in this respect is the FEEL-KJ because it measures 7 adaptive and 5 maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in response to three different emotions. However, the FEEL-KJ has not yet been validated extensively. Therefore, the current study aims to test the internal structure and validity of the FEEL-KJ in a large sample of Dutch-speaking Belgian children and adolescents (N = 1102, 8–18 years old). The investigation of the internal structure confirms earlier reports of a two-factor structure with Adaptive and Maladaptive Emotion Regulation as overarching categories. However, it also suggests that the two-factor model is more complex than what was previously assumed. The evaluation of the FEEL-KJ validity furthermore provides evidence for its construct and external validity. In sum, the current study confirms that the FEEL-KJ is a valuable and reliable measure of emotion regulation strategies in children and adolescents.

No abstract

Previous research shows that leanness-and weight-dependent sports increase the risk of developing disturbed eating behaviour. This study investigated whether adolescent aesthetic athletes (n = 68, M = 14.6 years), particularly ballet dancers and figure skaters, exhibit more eating pathology compared to the general population. Furthermore, it was investigated whether sport-related factors have explanatory value for the dieting behaviour of aesthetic athletes.To asses eating pathology, reliable and valid self-report questionnaires were used including the Eating Disorder Inventory-II, the Children 's Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire and the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire.Results show that female aesthetic athletes show more drive for thinness, features of bulimia, dieting behaviour and concerns about weight and shape compared to female adolescents from the general population. Concerning the explanation of dieting behaviour in aesthetic athletes, both sport-related factors (competition state anxiety) and general risk factors (eating concern) seem to be relevant.These results suggest that female aesthetic athletes show more disturbed eating behaviour and thoughts than female adolescents from the general population and therefore may have an enhanced risk of developing clinical eating disorders.