Anxiety and depression mediate the role of low self-esteem and low self-directedness in the development of eating disorders
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Matteo Aloi
Abstract
Objective:
Low self-esteem and low self-directedness (SD) are considered a risk factor for the development of eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that low self-esteem and low SD lead to a higher risk for EDs through the mediation of anxiety and depression.
Methods:
Seventy-seven female teenagers answered the Eating Disorder Inventory 3 (EDI-3), the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). To test the hypothesis, a structural equation model (SEM) was used.
Results:
According to the EDI3-EDRC scores, 23/77 (29.9%) participants demonstrated positive results in the screening. Participants who had positive results in the screening had significantly higher scores on trait and state anxiety, depression, and IU, and lower means of self-esteem and SD. The SEM demonstrated good fit indices and all paths were significant in the predicted directions, confirming the hypothesized model.
Conclusions:
The current results confirm the role of self-esteem and SD in the development of an ED among adolescent females through the mediating action of IU, anxiety, and depression.
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© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
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- Editorial
- Adverse effects of stimulant medications in children and adolescents: focus on cardiovascular issues
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- Factors contributing to intentional injuries in Iranian university students
- Anxiety and depression mediate the role of low self-esteem and low self-directedness in the development of eating disorders
- The effects of music therapy on transition outcomes in adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease
- Reducing barriers to primary school education for girls in rural Kenya: reusable pads’ intervention
- Pubertal gynecomastia: years of progress – the Hacettepe experience
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- Chronic pain in high school students is associated with physical activity and sleeping hours but not with screen time
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- Meningococcal disease awareness and meningoccocal vaccination among Greek students planning to travel abroad
- Parent educators for teenage smoking behavior
- Identification of common words to improve self-confidence in Japanese students with subthreshold depression
- Diet quality, overweight and daily monetary allowance of Greek adolescents
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Adverse effects of stimulant medications in children and adolescents: focus on cardiovascular issues
- Original Articles
- Factors contributing to intentional injuries in Iranian university students
- Anxiety and depression mediate the role of low self-esteem and low self-directedness in the development of eating disorders
- The effects of music therapy on transition outcomes in adolescents and young adults with sickle cell disease
- Reducing barriers to primary school education for girls in rural Kenya: reusable pads’ intervention
- Pubertal gynecomastia: years of progress – the Hacettepe experience
- A web-based anger management program for parent-female adolescents’ conflicts: a cluster randomized controlled trial
- Chronic pain in high school students is associated with physical activity and sleeping hours but not with screen time
- Effect of Melissa officinalis capsule on the mental health of female adolescents with premenstrual syndrome: a clinical trial study
- Meningococcal disease awareness and meningoccocal vaccination among Greek students planning to travel abroad
- Parent educators for teenage smoking behavior
- Identification of common words to improve self-confidence in Japanese students with subthreshold depression
- Diet quality, overweight and daily monetary allowance of Greek adolescents
