engleski

Body image satisfaction, perfectionism, and eating disorder symptoms in pregnant women

Background and aims: Different psychological determinants play a role in the development of disordered eating attitudes, among which are self- esteem, body image dissatisfaction, perfectionism, depressiveness, and anxiety. However, previous studies have rarely been focused on eating disorder symptoms in pregnant women whose body image changes during pregnancy. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the occurrence of eating disorder symptoms in pregnant women and to examine whether they could be predicted by body image satisfaction, self-esteem and perfectionism, after controlling for body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Method: In a cross-sectional study, 285 pregnant women anonymously filled in questionnaires measuring eating disorder symptoms (Eating Attitudes Test, Adolescent Dieting Scale), perfectionism (Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), body image satisfaction (Body Areas Satisfaction Scale), depression symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and anxiety (subscale anxiety from Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale). Results: Between 1-3% of the pregnant women reported extreme symptoms of eating disorders. Out of the whole sample, in 27.1% the physician prescribed a diet, mainly due to gestational diabetes. However, out of the women who were not prescribed a diet, 21.7% reported moderate to extreme dieting. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that eating disorder symptoms could be predicted by a higher body mass index, higher positive perfectionism, and anxiety. Anxiety had a differential role in predicting dieting behavior in thewomen who were prescribed a diet and the ones who were not. Conclusion: To conclude, a notable proportion of the women report risky eating behaviors and attitudes which should be screened for as an integral part of standard prenatal care.

pregnancy, eating disorders, dieting, body image satisfaction, perfectionism, anxiety

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