Eating disorders symptoms and excessive internet use in adolescents: the role of internalising and externalising problems

Journal of Eating Disorders

Daniela Husarova¹  Nika Šablatúrová²  Jaroslav Gottfried²  Anna Ševčíková²  Lukas Blinka² 

[1] Department of Health Psychology and Methodology Research, Faculty of Medicine, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Košice, Slovakia;Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Joštova 10, 60200, Brno, Czech Republic;

关键词: Eating disorders symptoms;    Excessive internet use;    Internalising problems;    Externalising problems;    Adolescents;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40337-021-00506-5

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBoth eating disorders and excessive internet use represent significant health issues for contemporary adolescents. Yet, the link between them has seldom been investigated. We aim to study this association through their common underlying psychological factors: internalising problems and externalising problems.MethodsA representative sample of 7,083 adolescents (Mage = 13.48 years; SDage = 1.32; 50.3% girls) from Slovakia was obtained from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) project in 2018. Study variables included the Excessive Internet Use Scale (EIU) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Eating disorders symptoms (EDS) were assessed by SCOFF and selected items from the Eating Disorder Screen for Primary Care (ESP). Data were analysed separately for boys and girls with Structural Equation Modelling.ResultsThere was a partial correlation between EDS and EIU (r = 0.36 for boys and r = 0.29 for girls) after controlling for the internalising and externalising of problems. Internalising and externalising problems were positively associated with EDS, while EIU was only associated with externalising problems. The results were comparable for both genders.ConclusionThe study provides evidence that, during adolescence, EDS and EIU are related and have a tendency to occur together. Also, they are related even when controlled for their shared underlying psychological factors, namely the emotional and attentional/behavioural difficulties.

【 授权许可】

CC BY