Effect of locus of control on disordered eating in athletes: the mediational role of self-regulation of eating attitudes

The Self-Regulation of Eating Attitudes in Sport Scale: Defining an Optimal Regulation Zone

This study examines the hypothesis of a Zone of Optimal Regulation of Eating Attitudes in Sport (ZOREAS). The ZOREAS refers to a band, or zone within which athletes are most likely to optimize eating attitude regulation which should be associated with a low level of disordered eating. Scores outside this zone indicate a risk factor for eating disorders. One hundred and eleven volunteer athletes were recruited. Two variables were assessed: self-regulation of eating in sport, and eating attitudes and behaviors, measured with the French Self-Regulatory Eating Attitude in Sports Scale (SREASS), and the French version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), respectively. Correlational analyses and an ANOVA were run. As expected, we observed a negative relationship between scores for the self-regulation of eating, and disordered eating attitudes in the sports context. To better-determine the ZOREAS, we ran a one-way ANOVA, which was significant for disordered eating attitudes. The plot of the interaction confirmed three trends: a high level of disordered eating attitudes (EAT scores over 20) is associated with a high level of self-regulation of eating attitudes (SREASS scores over 24); a medium level of disordered eating attitudes is associated with a low level of self-regulation of eating attitudes (SREASS scores under 19); a low level of disordered eating attitudes is associated with a medium level of self-regulation of eating attitudes (SREASS scores between 19 and 24). Thus, the ZOREAS was determined to be SREASS scores within the range 19–24. The ZOREAS may be useful to sports psychology practitioners who work with athletes.

Self- and group-focused internalized racism, anxiety, and depression symptoms among African American adults: A core self-evaluation mediated pathway

Internalized racism (IR) is a form of racism that leads people to internalize stereotypes about their racial/ethnic group (i.e., group-focused IR) and/or about themselves because of their racial/ethnic group membership (i.e., self-focused IR). However, although IR is associated with poor mental health, little is known about the underlying mechanisms of these associations. To address this limitation, this research investigates the core self-evaluation (CSE; a person’s fundamental evaluations about themselves, their own abilities, and their own control) mediated pathway as one potential pathway. CSE consists of four traits: self-esteem (SE), locus of control (LoC), emotional stability (ES), and generalized self-efficacy (GSE). With a sample of 780 Black/African American adults ( Mage = 37.68 years, % Female = 57.6), this study investigated the independent direct and indirect effects of group- and self-focused IR on depression and anxiety symptoms via CSE using structural equation modeling. Confirming predictions, self- and group-focused IR predicted greater anxiety and depression symptoms and lower SE and ES. However, against predictions, both forms of IR were associated with increased internal LoC and were not associated with GSE. Last, results show partial support for the CSE mediated pathway, such that SE and ES (but not LoC or GSE) mediated the relationship between both self- and group-focused IR and anxiety and depression symptoms. Results suggest that IR is indirectly related to mental health via the more affective (SE, ES) relative to motivational (LoC, GSE) components of CSE, which has implications for understanding underlying mechanisms associating IR with poor mental health among racial/ethnic minorities.

Insidious: The relationship patients have with their eating disorders and its impact on symptoms, duration of illness, and self-image

OBJECTIVES

In published clinical and autobiographical accounts of eating disorders, patients often describe their disorder in personified ways, that is, relating to the disorder as if it were an entity, and treatment often involves techniques of externalization. By encouraging patients to think about their eating disorder as a relationship, this study aimed to examine how young female patients experience their eating disorder as acting towards them, how they react in response, and whether these interactions are associated with symptoms, illness duration, and self-image.

DESIGN

Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) was used to operationalize how patients experience the actions of their eating disorder and their own reactions to the disorder.

METHOD

The relationship between patients (N = 150) and their eating disorders was examined with respect to symptoms, duration of illness, and self-image. Patients were also compared on their tendency to react with affiliation in relation to their disorder.

RESULTS

Patients' responses on the SASB indicated that they tended to conceptualize their eating disorders as blaming and controlling, and they themselves as sulking and submitting in response. Greater experience of the eating disorder as being controlling was associated with higher levels of symptomatology. Patients reacting with more negative affiliation towards their disorder were less symptomatic.

CONCLUSIONS

When encouraging patients to think about their eating disorder as a relationship, comprehensible relationship patterns between patients and their eating disorders emerged. The idea that this alleged relationship may resemble a real-life relationship could have theoretical implications, and its exploration may be of interest in treatment.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

Patients were able to conceptualize their eating disorder as a significant other to whom they relate when encouraged to do so. Patients tended to experience their disorder as controlling and domineering. Exploring the hypothetical patient-eating disorder relationship may prove helpful in understanding dysfunctional relational patterns. Helping patients to rebel against their eating disorder could potentially aid in symptom reduction.

Psychological correlates of fear of falling: Findings from the German Aging Survey

AIM

The aim of the present study was to identify general psychological factors related to fear of falling.

METHODS

Data drawn from national probability sampling of the German population aged ≥40 years were used (German Aging Survey; n = 7779). The fear of falling and the psychological factors of loneliness, life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, optimism, self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-regulation and perceived stress were collected in self-administered questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic, lifestyle and health-related variables were used to determine the psychological correlates of fear of falling.

RESULTS

The prevalence of fear of falling was 18% for all individuals. All psychological factors showed strong bivariate associations with fear of falling. In the multiple regression analyses, higher levels of loneliness, lower life satisfaction, lower positive affect and higher negative affect, as well as lower levels of optimism, self-efficacy, self-esteem, self-regulation and more perceived stress, were associated with increased fear of falling after controlling for sociodemographic factors, various lifestyle factors and morbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

The psychological factors considered in the present study are important for characterizing people with fear of falling. Because effective interventions to treat the fear of falling are available, our study might help to address this target group more accurately. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 396-406.

[External and internal validity of a multidimensional Locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes (LOCSCAS)]

In the field of health psychology, the control has consistently been considered as a protective factor. This protective role has been also highlighted in eating attitudes' domain. However, current studies use the one-dimensional scale of Rotter or the multidimensional health locus of control scale, and no specific eating attitudes' scale in the sport context exists. Moreover, the social influence in previous scales is limited. According to recent works, the purpose of this study was to test the internal and external validity of a multidimensional locus of control scale of eating attitudes for athletes. One hundred and seventy-nine participants were solicited. A confirmatory factorial analysis was conducted in order to test the internal validity of the scale. The scale external validity was tested in relation to eating attitudes. The internal validity of the scale was verified as well as the external validity, which confirmed the importance of taking into consideration social influences. Indeed, the 2 subscales "Trainers, friends" and "Parents, family" are related respectively positively and negatively in eating disorders.

Habilidades sociais: fator de proteção contra transtornos alimentares em adolescentes

Resumo O objetivo desse estudo foi revisar a literatura a cerca da relação entre transtornos alimentares e habilidades sociais em adolescentes. Pesquisou-se as bases de dados Medline, SciELO e Lilacs, cruzando os descritores “transtornos alimentares”, “anorexia nervosa”, “bulimia nervosa” e “comportamento alimentar”, com os descritores “psicologia social” e “isolamento social”, e com as palavras chave “competência social”, “habilidade social” e “relação interpessoal”. Incluiu-se estudos com adolescentes, nos idiomas português, inglês e espanhol, e publicações realizadas entre os anos de 2007 a 2012. A busca resultou em 63 artigos, sendo incluídos 50 nesta revisão. A maioria dos estudos foi conduzido no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos. Do total, 43 eram artigos originais. Os estudos visavam compreender como o estado emocional poderia influenciar no estabelecimento dos transtornos alimentares, assim como as relações interpessoais e a relação entre os pares. Os artigos também discutiram a influência da mídia e da sociedade neste processo. A partir da análise dos estudos, observou-se que quanto maior o repertório de habilidades sociais dos adolescentes, maior será o fator de proteção contra o desenvolvimento de transtornos alimentares.

Beliefs about the causes of success in sports and susceptibility for doping use in adolescent athletes

The present study set out to assess the impact of attributional beliefs about success on the susceptibility for doping use in adolescent athletes. The sample consisted of 309 adolescent athletes participating in both team and individual sports. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires including Beliefs about the Causes of Success in Sport Questionnaire (BACSSQ), current and past doping use, and measures of attitudes, norms, situational temptation and social desirability. Variance reduction rate analysis revealed that social desirability did not act as a confounder in the relationship between doping susceptibility and its predictors. With regard to beliefs about the causes of success dimensions, only deception emerged as a significant predictor of doping use susceptibility over and above the effects of well-established social-cognitive predictors of doping intentions and use. These findings imply that beliefs about the causes of success in youth sports may comprise another dimension of risk factors for doping susceptibility and use.

Pain catastrophizing: an updated review

Pain catastrophizing has been described for more than half a century which adversely affects the pain coping behavior and overall prognosis in susceptible individuals when challenged by painful conditions. It is a distinct phenomenon which is characterized by feelings of helplessness, active rumination and excessive magnification of cognitions and feelings toward the painful situation. Susceptible subjects may have certain demographic or psychological predisposition. Various models of pain catastrophizing have been proposed which include attention-bias, schema-activation, communal-coping and appraisal models. Nevertheless, consensus is still lacking as to the true nature and mechanisms for pain catastrophizing. Recent advances in population genomics and noninvasive neuroimaging have helped elucidate the known determinants and neurophysiological correlates behind this potentially disabling behavior.

[The significance of the relationship between external/internal locus of control and adolescent substance use in behavioral medicine]

Prevention and treatment of the addictions are key public health priorities in modern society. In medical practice, in relation to the biochemical processes, mapping the addiction-prone personality traits, like external/internal locus of control are getting more and more attention. Individuals with high level on internal locus of control, for example, tend to take care of their health behavior; the lack of it, on the other hand, may worsen the effectiveness of stress release which may increase the likelihood of turning to substance use.

AIMS

The main goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between adolescent substance use (both lifetime prevalence and the actual substance user status) and external/internal locus of control).

METHOD

The data collection of the questionnaire survey was going on among 656 high school students in Szeged (age range between 14-21 years, mean = 16.5 years, S.D. = 1.5 years of age, 49.1% of the sample was female). Associations between indicators of substance use (as dependent variables) and scale points of external/internal locus of control (as independent variables) were assessed using odds ratios calculated by logistic regression analyses, whereas gender was used as a controlling variable.

RESULTS

Among boys, scale points of external, among girls, those of internal locus of control showed higher values. External locus of control increased, whereas internal locus of control decreased the risk of substance use, however, the relative role of external/internal locus of control was different according to the type of substance use and the prevalence values. In terms of smoking, lifetime prevalence, whereas in terms of marijuana use, the actual user status was influenced. In addition, while the latter one was also affected by gender, it did not play a role at all in the previous one.

CONCLUSIONS

All these findings suggest that behavioral control may play a particularly important role in prevention of adolescent substance use. For developing this, methods of cognitive therapy would be effective to be completed with autogenic relaxation training as well.