PURSUIT OF THINNESS AND ONSET OF EATING DISORDER SYMPTOMS IN A COMMUNITY SAMPLE OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS - A 3-YEAR PROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS

Community-based prospective studies are needed to shed light on mechan isms that may influence development of eating disorders and identify v ariables that could serve as potential targets for prevention efforts. In this paper we examine level of weight preoccupation and other vari ables prospectively associated with age of onset of eating disorder sy mptoms over a 3-year interval in a community sample (N = 939) of young adolescent girls. 3.6% (32/887) experienced onset of symptoms over th e interval. Only one factor, a measure of Weight Concerns, was signifi cantly associated with onset (p < .001). Girls scoring in the highest quartile on the measure of Weight Concerns had the shortest survival t ime (12% incidence by age 14.5) and those scoring in the lowest quarti le had the highest survival time (2% incidence by age 14.5; p < .001). This finding is consistent with both theoretical and clinical perspec tives and represents one of the first prospective demonstrations of a linkage between weight and body shape concerns and later onset of eati ng disorder symptoms. An understanding of the independent variables th at predispose girls to development of symptoms is a useful step toward s the establishment of a rational basis for the choice of a prevention intervention target. (C) 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.