TY - JOUR
T1 - Longitudinal relationship between experience of sexual harassment and 2-year body image and weight outcomes in adolescence : mediation through self-objectification and psychological distress
AU - Hayes, Samantha
AU - Lonergan, A.
AU - Trompeter, N.
AU - Bussey, K.
AU - Hay, Phillipa
AU - Mitchison, Deborah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: The current study investigated the experience of sexual harassment as a risk factor for weight gain and weight/shape concerns in a community sample of adolescents, with potential mediating factors self-objectification and psychological distress. Method: 1034 Australian adolescents (aged 11 to 19 years) from the EveryBODY longitudinal study of disordered eating pathology participated. Data were collected through online surveys annually for 3 years. Participants completed self-report measures of demographics, sexual harassment, psychological distress, self-objectification, weight/shape concerns and BMI percentile. Results: A parallel mediation model adjusting for baseline scores found no direct effect between baseline experiences of sexual harassment and change in BMI percentile or weight/shape concern after 2 years. Experiences of sexual harassment significantly increased self-objectification scores after 1 year in female adolescents. Subsequently, higher self-objectification significantly increased the risk of greater weight/shape concern after 1 year in female adolescents. However, no significant mediating relationship was found in the relationship between sexual harassment and weight/shape concern or BMI percentile for either gender. Psychological distress was found to be a clear risk factor for weight/shape concern in both genders after 1 year. Conclusions: Intervention programmes in schools should focus on developing policies to reduce sexual harassment, self-objectification and distress in adolescents. Level of evidence: Level IV, longitudinal multiple time series without intervention.
AB - Background: The current study investigated the experience of sexual harassment as a risk factor for weight gain and weight/shape concerns in a community sample of adolescents, with potential mediating factors self-objectification and psychological distress. Method: 1034 Australian adolescents (aged 11 to 19 years) from the EveryBODY longitudinal study of disordered eating pathology participated. Data were collected through online surveys annually for 3 years. Participants completed self-report measures of demographics, sexual harassment, psychological distress, self-objectification, weight/shape concerns and BMI percentile. Results: A parallel mediation model adjusting for baseline scores found no direct effect between baseline experiences of sexual harassment and change in BMI percentile or weight/shape concern after 2 years. Experiences of sexual harassment significantly increased self-objectification scores after 1 year in female adolescents. Subsequently, higher self-objectification significantly increased the risk of greater weight/shape concern after 1 year in female adolescents. However, no significant mediating relationship was found in the relationship between sexual harassment and weight/shape concern or BMI percentile for either gender. Psychological distress was found to be a clear risk factor for weight/shape concern in both genders after 1 year. Conclusions: Intervention programmes in schools should focus on developing policies to reduce sexual harassment, self-objectification and distress in adolescents. Level of evidence: Level IV, longitudinal multiple time series without intervention.
UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:72978
U2 - 10.1007/s40519-022-01432-4
DO - 10.1007/s40519-022-01432-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 35834106
SN - 1124-4909
VL - 27
SP - 3095
EP - 3108
JO - Eating and Weight Disorders
JF - Eating and Weight Disorders
IS - 8
ER -
