Disordered Eating Cognitions as Predictors of Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Services
- PDF / 142,348 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 22 Downloads / 198 Views
Disordered Eating Cognitions as Predictors of Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Services Keri B. Dotson & Akihiko Masuda & Lindsey L. Cohen
Published online: 12 July 2011 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011
Abstract The present study investigated whether young adults’ disordered eating cognitions predicted attitudes toward seeking professional psychological services. Two hundred and eighty three 18- to 24-year-old undergraduate students completed a survey package that included measures of disordered eating cognitions and help-seeking attitudes. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that greater disordered eating cognitions uniquely predicted lower degrees of favorable help-seeking attitudes overall, lower stigma tolerance with respect to seeking professional psychological services, lower interpersonal openness in the context of help-seeking, and lower confidence in psychological professionals. The findings suggest that outreach interventions should, among other things, focus on stigma associated with help-seeking and disordered eating problems. Keywords Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help . Disordered eating cognitions . Help-seeking . Gender . Ethnicity . Previous help-seeking experience
Introduction Disordered eating problems are common in adolescents and young adults worldwide, especially among females in industrialized nations (Beukes et al. 2010; Greenberg et al. 2007; Hoyt and Ross 2003; Meyer 2005; Prouty et al. 2002). For example, in the U.S., although the majority of adolescents and young adults do not meet the DSM-IV criteria for an eating disorder, research suggests that between 35% and 50% of young females experience some form of disordered eating problem (e.g., Berg et al. 2009; Meyer 2005). Additionally, although U.S.-European American women have been the primary target of disordered eating treatment, young males and ethnic minority females in the U.S. also experience disordered eating problems (e.g., Lavender and Anderson 2010; Rogers and Petrie 2010; Mintz and Kashubeck 1999; Timko et al. 2010). Despite the potential health risks associated with disordered eating (e.g., Tyrka et al. 2003), individuals with such K. B. Dotson : A. Masuda (*) : L. L. Cohen Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected]
226
Int J Adv Counselling (2011) 33:225–234
problems are hesitant to seek professional psychological services (Cachelin and Striegel-Moore 2006; Meyer 2005; Prouty et al. 2002).
Disordered Eating Cognitions Recent evidence suggests that disordered eating cognitions are pervasive among nonclinical college samples (Miller et al. 2009; Masuda and Wendell 2010). Disordered eating cognitions are multi-dimensional and include the fear of gaining weight, perceived importance of having an ideal weight and shape as a means of being accepted by others, and perceived self-worth related to self-control over diet and weight (Fairburn 2008; Fairburn et al. 2003; Mizes et al. 2000). In both clinical and non-clinical samples, research ha
