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The relation between bulimic symptoms and the social withdrawal syndrome during early adolescence

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Abstract

Objective
The short-term longitudinal study tested the hypothesis that there was a prospective relation between the social withdrawal syndrome and Bulimic symptoms during early adolescence.

Method
Ninety-six adolescents (47 males, mean age = 13 years – 10 months) completed standardized scales assessing Bulimic symptoms, trust beliefs in others and loneliness at Time 1/T1 and again 5 months later at Time 2/T2.

Results
Analyses showed that: (1) Bulimic symptoms were negatively correlated with trust beliefs, (2) Bulimic symptoms were positively correlated with loneliness, and (3) trust beliefs were negatively correlated with loneliness. The SEM and mediation analyses showed that trust beliefs at T1 were negatively and concurrently associated with Bulimic symptoms at T1 and longitudinally (and negatively) predicted changes in Bulimic symptoms. It was found that loneliness at T1 statistically mediated those concurrent and longitudinal relations.

Conclusion
The findings yielded support for the conclusion that the social withdrawal syndrome, as assessed by low trust beliefs and resulting experiences of loneliness, contributes to Bulimia nervosa during early adolescence.

Acceptance Date Sep 17, 2015
Publication Date Sep 25, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Eating Behaviors
Print ISSN 1471-0153
Publisher Elsevier
Pages 177-180
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.09.008
Keywords Bulimic symptoms; Social withdrawal syndrome; Trust; Disclosure; Loneliness
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.09.008

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