INTRA-PERSONAL CORRELATES OF DISORDERED EATING PATTERNS IN COLLEGE STUDENTS Sarah Kaplan A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Family and Consumer Sciences December 2006 Committee: Julian H. Williford Jr., Advisor Priscilla Coleman Rebecca Pobocik ii ABSTRACT Julian H. Williford Jr., Advisor Eating disorders are interesting problems on college campuses that appear to be increasing. The purpose of this study was to identify correlations between EAT-26 scores and: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) scores, nutrients consumed in a self-reported 5-day diet record analyzed by Diet Analysis Plus 6.0, and demographic information from college students. A convenience sample of 390 volunteer college students from an introductory nutrition course at Bowling Green State University (BGSU) completed a 5-day diet record and surveys including the EAT-26, the BDI, the GSES, and demographic information. EAT-26 scores >20 were considered positive for disordered eating patterns. Approximately 15% of the sample had positive EAT-26 scores, which corresponds to previous studies conducted at BGSU (14%-18% positive). Positive EAT-26 scores were significantly correlated (p < .0001) with higher BDI scores. EAT-26 scores were significantly correlated with lower energy, (p < .0001) fat, (p < .0001) and carbohydrate intakes (p > .05) although EAT-26 scores were not related to the sample meeting the RDA/DRI for each nutrient. RDA/DRI was not met by any gender and age group for energy, magnesium, and potassium: and for females, neither the RDA/RDI for calcium or phosphorus was met. Approximately 88% of the sample had inadequate intakes of magnesium. Females had a higher percentage of inadequate intakes of measured nutrients than males. Subjects from low income families had significantly lower (p < .05) BDI scores. However, subjects from both low income families and high income families had significantly (p < .05) higher self-efficacy than those from middle income iii families. Subject’s age significantly correlated with both the EAT-26 scores (p < .05) and with BDI scores (p < .05). This study concluded that a substantial number of students scored positively on the EAT-26 and that the female students had a higher percentage of inadequate intakes than the male subjects, which supports previous research done at BGSU and other researchers. The RDA/DRI was not met for much of the sample for many nutrients and approximately 88% of the subjects did not have adequate intake of magnesium. The University should have programs available for both students and faculty to increase awareness and knowledge of eating disorders and the many risks they can include. iv This thesis is dedicated to my papa. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my gratitude to my committee. Dr. Joe: thanks for all of your support and assistance with this thesis. Your encouragement kept me motivated to finally complete this project. BP: thank you so much for being a part of this, you have been both a teacher and a friend to me over the last few years and all of your time and effort is greatly appreciated. Dr. Coleman: a huge thank you for helping me with all of the statistical data. I really appreciate all of the extra time you took to help me through this and I really did have fun working with you. I also want to thank all of my family and friends for supporting me, for putting up with my crazy mood swings, and for loving me anyways. Special thanks to my Mom, Chris, and Amanda: you put up with the most and you kept me sane; I really can’t thank you enough. Finally I would like to thank my fellow thesis-writer and friend Erin Dawson for our daily venting sessions; I don’t know if I could have made it through the last couple of years without you!! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................... 1 Statement of Problem................................................................................................. 2 Significance of Problem............................................................................................. 3 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ....................................................................... 5 Disordered Eating ...................................................................................................... 5 Anorexia Nervosa.......................................................................................... 6 Bulimia Nervosa............................................................................................ 6 Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified.................................................... 6 Eating Disorders in College........................................................................... 7 Negative Effects of Eating Disorders ........................................................................ 8 Physical Effects.............................................................................................. 8 Psychological Effects..................................................................................... 8 Correlation Between Eating Disorders and Mental Health Disorders....................... 9 Dissociative Symptomatology ....................................................................... 10 Seasonal Affective Disorder .......................................................................... 10 Depression...................................................................................................... 11 Correlation Between Eating Disorders and Self-Efficacy ......................................... 12 Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI’s) ............................................................................ 13 Macronutrients Deficiencies and Eating Disorders ................................................... 14 Carbohydrates ................................................................................................ 15 vii Fat ............................................................................................................ 16 Protein ............................................................................................................ 16 Energy ............................................................................................................ 17 Deficiencies of Macronutrients in Disordered Eating ................................... 17 Micronutrients Deficiencies and Eating Disorders.................................................... 19 Vitamin A....................................................................................................... 20 Iron ............................................................................................................ 20 Vitamin C....................................................................................................... 21 Calcium.......................................................................................................... 22 Measuring Disordered Eating .................................................................................... 23 The Eating Disorder Inventory ...................................................................... 24 The Questionnaire for Eating Disorder Diagnosis......................................... 25 The Eating Attitudes Test .............................................................................. 25 Measuring Depression ............................................................................................... 28 The Inventory to Diagnose Depression.......................................................... 29 The Diagnostic Inventory for Depression...................................................... 29 The Beck Depression Inventory..................................................................... 30 Measuring Self-Efficacy ............................................................................................ 31 Traditional Measurement............................................................................... 31 Likert-Type Measurement ............................................................................. 32 The General Self-Efficacy Scale.................................................................... 33 Food Intake Surveys .................................................................................................. 33 Food Frequency Questionnaires .................................................................... 34 viii Food Records and Recalls.............................................................................. 34 Diet Records Analysis Computer Programs .............................................................. 35 Hypotheses ............................................................................................................ 36 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 38 Population ............................................................................................................ 38 Data Collection.......................................................................................................... 38 Instruments ............................................................................................................ 39 Interpreting the Demographic Information................................................................ 39 Coding the EAT-26...................................................................................................