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Abstract

Negative eating behaviors are problematic and can often lead to more serious health issues. Eating disorders can progress to clinical disorders, requiring immediate attention. Student-athletes often face social and cultural pressures that exponentially increase the possibility of developing dangerous eating disorders. High expectations and constant scrutiny from coaches, teammates, and friends may similarly encourage a sense of desperation to meet and exceed the demands of their sport. For this reason, this quantitative correlational research study aims to: (a) examine eating disorder risk in Puerto Rican high school student-athletes; (b) assess statistically significant relationships between self-esteem and the risk of eating disorders; (c) identify statistically significant relationships between body image and the risk of eating disorders, and (d) analyze if body image and self-esteem significantly predicted eating disorder risk. Thirty-six Puerto Rican high school student-athletes completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE), and the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS). A Pearson correlation coefficient examined the relationship between body image and eating disorder risk, and the relationship between self-esteem and eating disorder risk. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess whether body image and self-esteem could predict the risk of a potential eating disorder. Results show that in high school student-athletes, this was generally low, given a normal body image and a favorable degree of self-esteem. As such, no correlation was found between body image, selfesteem, and eating disorder risk. In this light, the above variables did not predict eating disorder risk. These results are positive, but further exploration with a larger sample of student-athletes would better corroborate the findings of this study.