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Updated: Oct 5, 2026

A Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Eating Disorder Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: May 10, 2022
Body image and personality predictors of eating disorder symptoms during the college years
1Department of Psychology, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, Oregon 97361, USA. cooleye@wou.edu
Objective:
Women entering college (N = 118) were longitudinally followed for 3 years with assessments of eating pathology (Restraint and Bulimia).
Method:
Measures taken at Time 1 included timing of onset of puberty, Figure Dissatisfaction, Ineffectiveness, Public Self-Consciousness, and mood states (Profile of Mood States). Measures were evaluated as predictors of changes in Restraint and Bulimia scores across the three-year period.
Results:
Both Restraint (r = .69) and Bulimia (r = .50) were quite stable across the 3 years. Mean weight gain of 5.4 pounds (p < .001) was paralleled by an increase in "ideal weight" of 4.7 pounds. Hierarchical regressions controlling for Time 1 levels of eating disorder symptoms revealed that changes in Bulimia (R(2) = .38, p < .0001) were related to the psychological measures and to Figure Dissatisfaction. Changes in Restraint (R(2) = .61, p < .0001) were significantly related to Figure Dissatisfaction.
Discussion:
Findings are discussed in the context of the value of longitudinal designs in identifying risk factors. Dissatisfaction with one's figure seems to be consistently related to worsening eating pathology.
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