A MEDIATIONAL MODEL OF SOCIAL PHYSIQUE ANXIETY AND EATING-DISORDERED BEHAVIORS

In the present study correlations among scores on social physique anxi ety, social behavior inhibition, and eating disordered behaviors and t raits were hypothesized on the basis that social physique anxiety woul d be correlated with personality disturbances associated with eating d isorders and mediated by social inhibition and eating disordered behav iors. Subjects were 79 college-aged women (M age=19.5 yr.), who comple ted the Garner's Eating Disorders Inventory, me Social Physique Anxiet y Scale, and a measure of social behavior inhibition developed fur thi s study. A mediational path analysis showed scores on social physique anxiety significantly moderately related to scores for eating disorder ed traits, mediated by scores on earing disordered behavior. These cor relations account for 14 to 31% of the common variance, and with clini cal research, support the assumption that eating-disordered behavior m all begin with milder symptomatology such as high scores on social phy sique anxiety. Longitudinal research is required to assess the propose d causal relationship between identification of early symptoms and lat er eating disorders; however, present research suggests early interven tion with women at risk may be useful.