Objective. This study examined the relationship of psychosocial factor
s and health behaviors to frequent dieting and purging behaviors in Na
tive American adolescent boys and girls. Design. School-based health s
urvey. Setting and Participants. A total sample of 13 454 Native Ameri
can youth in grades 7 through 12 living on or near reservations from e
ight Indian Health Service areas completed a self-report, school-based
health questionnaire. Results. Almost half (48.3%) of the girls and o
ne third (30.5%) of the boys had dieted in the past year. More than on
e fourth (28%) of the girls and 21% of the boys reported purging behav
ior of some type. Dieting frequency and purging status were associated
with negative psychosocial factors and health risk behaviors. Dieting
frequency in girls was associated with weight dissatisfaction, concer
ns about being overweight, high emotional stress, binge eating, alcoho
l use, tobacco use, suicide ideation and attempts, delinquent behavior
s, and physical and sexual abuse. Purging status was positively and in
dependently associated with negative psychosocial and health behavior
risk factors. There were fewer significant relationships in boys. Conc
lusions. Findings from this study suggest that dieting and purging are
associated with similar psychosocial factors and health-compromising
behaviors in Native American and white youth. Implications for future
research and prevention programs are discussed.