Gender Differences in Eating Disorders and Risk Factors in Upper Primary School Children

Moon, So Hyun

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in eating disorders and in several risk factors; body dissatisfaction, perfectionism, self-esteem, and depression. METHOD: The data were collected from 423 students in grades 5 or 6 (230 male and 193 female) in this cross-sectional study. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression were used with the SPSS/PC ver 12.0 program.
RESULTS
Girls experienced more symptoms of eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, and depression than boys. There were also gender differences in risk factors. For girls, depression, socially-prescribed perfectionism, and body dissatisfaction were related to eating disorder behaviors, whereas for boys, depression, self-oriented perfectionism, body dissatisfaction, and self-esteem were related to eating disorder behaviors.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the present study indicate that risk factors for eating disorders for boys and girls may be different, and these differences have implications for understanding the etiology of eating disorders and should be considered in planning possible nursing interventions.