Purpose: Understanding how known eating disorder (ED) risk factors change in relating to one another over time may inform efficient intervention targets. We examined short-term (i.e., 1 month) reciprocal longitudinal relations between weight/shape concern and comorbid symptoms (i.e., depressed mood, anxiety) and behaviors (i.e., binge drinking) over the course of 24 months using cross-lagged panel models.
Methods: Participants were 185 women aged 18-25 years at very high risk for ED onset, randomized to an online ED preventive intervention or waitlist control. We also tested whether relations differed based on intervention receipt.
Results: Weight/shape concern in 1 month significantly predicted depressed mood the following month; depressed mood in 1 month also predicted weight/shape concern the following month, but the effect size was smaller. Likewise, weight/shape concern in 1 month significantly predicted anxiety the following month, but the reverse was not true. Results showed no temporal relations between weight/shape concern and binge drinking in either direction. Relations between weight/shape concern, and comorbid symptoms and behaviors did not differ based on intervention receipt.
Conclusions: Results support focusing intervention on reducing weight/shape concern over reducing comorbid constructs for efficient short-term change.
Level of evidence: Level I, evidence obtained from a properly designed randomized controlled trial.
Keywords: College-age women; Comorbidity; Eating disorder; Weight/shape concern.