PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Suzanne E Mazzeo

Publications and source records attributed to Suzanne E Mazzeo.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Innovative interventions for disordered eating: evaluating dissonance-based and yoga interventions.

OBJECTIVE: Eating-disordered behavior is prevalent among college women. Few interventions have successfully reduced risk factors for these behaviors, however. The most promising interventions are both selective and interactive. This study compared two newer types of interventions that meet these criteria: cognitive dissonance and yoga programs. METHOD: This study advertised programs for women who were dissatisfied with their bodies. Participants (N = 93) were randomly assigned to dissonance, yoga, or control groups. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that there were no significant post-intervention differences between the yoga and control groups. Dissonance group participants had significantly lower scores than the scores of both other groups on measures of disordered eating, drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, alexithymia, and anxiety. CONCLUSION: These findings have important implications for interventions on college campuses. In particular, dissonance interventions appear to be an efficient and inexpensive approach to reducing eating disorder risk factors. Additional research regarding the value of yoga interventions is needed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

The role of depression and dissociation in the relationship between childhood trauma and bulimic symptoms among ethnically diverse female undergraduates.

OBJECTIVE: The goals of this study were to examine the role of dissociation and depression as possible mediators of the relationship between several forms of childhood trauma and bulimic symptomatology and to explore potential ethnic differences in these relationships. METHOD: Four hundred seventeen female undergraduates participated in this cross-sectional study. They completed measures of dissociative, depressive, and bulimic symptoms, and childhood trauma. Experiences of multiple forms of childhood trauma were measured, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect. However, only emotional abuse was correlated with bulimic symptoms at p<.01. Therefore, other forms of trauma were excluded from the analyses to control for Type I error. RESULTS: Dissociation was not associated with emotional abuse after controlling for depression; therefore, tests of dissociation as a mediator were discontinued. Depression was significantly associated with emotional abuse after controlling for dissociation. Emotional abuse was significantly associated with bulimia. Finally, emotional abuse and depression together were significantly associated with bulimia after controlling for dissociation. However, emotional abuse became nonsignificant when entered with depression, indicating that depression mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and bulimic symptoms. There were no ethnic differences in this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that among women who have experienced childhood emotional abuse, depression is more strongly associated with unhealthy eating behaviors than is dissociation. Results also suggest that emotional abuse is a form of childhood trauma particularly relevant to bulimia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Gender, ethnicity, psychosocial factors, and quality of life among severely overweight, treatment-seeking adolescents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine gender and ethnic differences in psychosocial functioning among 100 (78% African American and 59% girls) treatment-seeking overweight 11- to 18-year-old adolescents. Self-esteem was examined as a potential mediator of the association between weight-related teasing and quality of life (QOL). METHODS: Adolescents completed measures evaluating self-esteem, dietary habits, teasing, and QOL. RESULTS: Few racial or gender differences were found. Mean QOL was similar to that reported in another study examining treatment-seeking overweight adolescents and substantially lower than what has been reported for non-treatment-seeking overweight adolescents. Self-esteem partially mediated the association between teasing and QOL. CONCLUSIONS: Severely overweight adolescents of both genders and diverse ethnicities face significant stigmatization and manifest poor overall psychosocial functioning, which is negatively associated with QOL. Furthermore, self-esteem appears to partially mediate the negative relationship between teasing and QOL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Associations among postpartum depression, eating disorders, and perfectionism in a population-based sample of adult women.

OBJECTIVE: The current study investigated associations among eating disorders, depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, and perfectionism in a population-based sample of women. METHOD: Females who reported > or = 1 pregnancy (N = 1,119) completed questionnaires assessing perfectionism, eating disorder symptomatology, and depression during pregnancy and postpartum. Information regarding participants' history of major depressive disorder (MDD) was also available from structured psychiatric interviews completed during a previous wave of data collection. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum were high among women with a history of eating disorders. Both binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN) were positively associated with symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD), even when lifetime MDD was controlled. However, logistic regression indicated that women with a history of BN and BED are at particular risk of developing PPD symptomatology. Linear regression analyses conducted with the subset of the sample who endorsed a PPD screening item suggested that the severity of PPD symptomatology may be attributable to Concern Over Mistakes, a specific aspect of perfectionism. CONCLUSION: These results highlight the importance of assessing specific features of perfectionism. In addition, they suggest that women with BN, BED, or high Concern over Mistakes may be at particular risk of developing PPD symptoms, and could benefit from prenatal screening.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Gender and binge eating among bariatric surgery candidates.

Bariatric surgery is an increasingly popular treatment for severe obesity. However, while rates of obesity are comparable across genders, women are much more likely to undergo bariatric surgery. Little research exists on gender differences among bariatric surgery candidates. This study examined gender differences and their correlates within a sample of 487 patients presenting for bariatric surgery. Results indicated that women were more depressed than men, dieted more, and were more likely to report that their weight interfered with feeling good about themselves. There were no differences in BED rates or binge eating. Furthermore, among women, both depression and self-esteem were associated with binge eating symptomatology. However, among men, only depression contributed to binge eating scores. These findings provide evidence for the significance of binge eating and depression among both male and female bariatric surgery candidates.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Mediators of the association between abuse and disordered eating in undergraduate men.

The vast majority of ED research has focused on women. However, recent studies have suggested that ED symptomatology in men may be underestimated. Additional investigations are needed to better understand EDs and their correlates among men. This study examined the relationships between childhood abuse experiences and disordered eating in male undergraduates. In addition, potential mediators and moderators of the association between abuse and disordered eating were evaluated. Results indicated that physical abuse and physical neglect were the only adverse childhood experiences associated with disordered eating. In addition, depression mediated the associations between these forms of abuse and ED symptomatology. However, neither anxiety nor alexithymia were significant mediators of the association between abuse and EDs. Social support moderated the association between physical neglect and depression, such that individuals with high social support were less depressed than those with low social support, regardless of their level of physical neglect. These results are somewhat different than those found in exclusively female samples, highlighting the importance of specifically examining EDs and their correlates among men.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Binge eating among African American and Caucasian bariatric surgery candidates.

Bariatric surgery is an increasingly utilized treatment for severe obesity, especially among women. Although African American women have high rates of severe obesity, most research investigating psychological correlates of obesity has been conducted with Caucasians. This study examined the characteristics of African American women seeking bariatric surgery, and ethnic differences in BED rates and correlates of binge eating. Finally, we examined whether the association between psychological factors associated with binge eating was moderated by ethnicity. Results indicated that African American women had higher BMIs, higher self esteem, and less depression than Caucasians. There were no differences in rates of binge eating or BED. Both depression and self esteem accounted for unique variance in binge eating; however, these relationships were not moderated by ethnicity. These results further highlight African Americans' vulnerability to EDs, and suggest that depression and low self esteem are equally relevant to binge eating in African American and Caucasian women.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Binge eating and psychological distress in ethnically diverse undergraduate men and women.

Binge eating symptomatology affects African Americans and Caucasians at similar rates. Moreover, compared to anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating and BED are more evenly distributed across genders. Undergraduates are likely to be affected by binge eating, yet, relatively few studies have investigated this behavior and its correlates in college samples. This study examined the influence of alexithymia, depression, and anxiety on binge eating among ethnically diverse undergraduates. Results indicated that these variables significantly predicted eating symptomatology among Caucasian and African American women but not among Caucasian men. Further, among Caucasian women, depression was the only unique predictor of eating pathology. In contrast, anxiety was the only unique predictor of disordered eating in African American women. There were no differences between Caucasians and African Americans in severity of disordered eating symptomatology; however, in both ethnic groups, women reported greater eating pathology than men. Eating disorders of all types may be more prevalent among African American undergraduates than previously thought. These results highlight the need to study binge eating and its correlates in this traditionally underserved group.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

The structure of perfectionism: a twin study.

BACKGROUND: Perfectionism may be a premorbid risk factor for eating disorders. Evidence of familial transmission suggests features of perfectionism may be genetically determined. This study examines the structure of perfectionism using classical twin design models. METHODS: Independent (IP) and common (CP) pathway models are used to investigate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors can help to identify and differentiate three behavioral domains of perfectionism as measured by a shortened version of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) [Frost et al. (1990). Cognit. Ther. Res. 14: 449-468]. Three of the original subscales were included: Personal standards (PS), Doubts about actions (DA), Concern over mistakes (CM). We studied a sample of 1022 paired and unpaired female twins from the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry. RESULTS: MZ correlations were consistently higher than DZ twin correlations for all three composite subscales. The multivariate independent pathway model provided a better fit to the twin correlations then did the more parsimonious common pathway model suggesting the pattern of familial resemblance for the three subscales is not well characterized by a unidimensional perfectionism factor. CM phenotypic variance was completely accounted for by common heritability influences in both the IP and CP models. Based on the IP model results, there was evidence that PS and CM but not DA shared some common genetic effects, with DA and CM sharing some common environmental factors. CONCLUSIONS: These multivariate twin modeling results support conceptualizations of perfectionism as a multidimensional construct. The biometric structural results for the three subscales examined here suggest CM is the core feature of Perfectionism with DA and PS serving as indicators of CM. Although not the best fitting model, the common pathway model estimated this behavioral domain to be isomorphic with the construct of perfectionism. The better fitting independent pathway model provided evidence of non-trivial differences in the pattern of heritability for CM, DA, and PS.

Achievement↗
PubMed2004

Characteristics of men with persistent thinness.

OBJECTIVE: Although Western society is increasingly obesogenic, some individuals maintain low weights. Thin women manifest fewer eating disorders and higher self-esteem. However, little is known about persistently thin men. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Participants completed measures of demographics, psychiatric history, body size, eating behavior, and personality. RESULTS: Thinness was associated with less eating pathology. Thin men were more likely to meet criteria for generalized anxiety disorder (odds ratio = 2.46). DISCUSSION: Persistent thinness may protect men from eating disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Investigating the structure of the eating inventory (three-factor eating questionnaire): a confirmatory approach.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the internal structure of the Eating Inventory using confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) methods. METHOD: Female participants in a population-based twin study (N = 1,510) completed a reduced version of the Eating Inventory as part of a larger study of eating behaviors. Two CFA estimation methods were implemented using LISREL and Mplus to evaluate three different factor structures reported in the literature. RESULTS: Overall results for Stunkard and Messick's (1985) three-factor model indicated a poor fit to these data. The structure reported by Ganley resulted in an improper solution with factor correlations over 1 and several loadings estimated near 0 or with negative signs. The model proposed by Hyland et al. also fit poorly for all three models, the pattern of loadings on the Restraint factor proved most difficult to interpret. DISCUSSION: This study represents the first application of these confirmatory methods to the three subscales of the Eating Inventory. The instrument, as administered in this study, did not conform well to the structures proposed in previous studies. Because the Eating Inventory is recommended as a treatment planning tool, poor replication of the constructs purported to be assessed by this instrument underscores the importance of further internal validation research.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Trends in eating disorder symptomatology in an outpatient clinic: 1988-1998.

Eating disorders treatment has been altered by changes in the health care system. In addition, there has been a major emphasis on prevention in recent years. Yet, there are few investigations of the effects of these changes on the severity of patients' symptomatology at intake. This study examined differences in symptoms among women who presented to an outpatient clinic between 1988 and 1998. Patients were divided into Cohort 1 (1988-1992) and Cohort 2 (1993-1998). Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) in Cohort 2 had significantly lower body mass indices (BMIs) at intake. Moreover, a greater number of patients with AN in Cohort 2 had BMIs<or=15, suggesting severe malnourishment. Cohort 2 patients with bulimia nervosa obtained higher scores on the Interpersonal Distrust, Interoceptive Awareness, and Maturity Fears subscales of the Eating Disorder Inventory. There were no cohort differences in eating disorder duration, exercising, laxative or diuretic use, or self-induced vomiting. These results provide some evidence that the severity of eating symptomatology has increased in recent years.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

Examining the construct validity of the Eating Disorder Inventory.

The construct validity of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) was examined in 3 samples. An archival clinic sample (n = 318) of women completed the EDI, a structured interview, and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) indicated that neither null nor 1-factor models of the EDI fit item-level or item-parcel data. The proposed 8-factor model did not fit at the item level but did fit item-parcel data. Reliability estimates of the 8 scales ranged from .82 to .93, and low-to-moderate interscale correlations among the eating and weight-related scales provided partial support for convergent validity. EDI personality scales showed moderate interscale correlations and were associated with MCMI-II scales. A final CFA of the EDI scales supported a 2-factor model (Eating and Weight, Personality) of the 8 EDI scales. Strong associations between depression and several EDI scale scores were found in a treatment study sample (n = 50). The archival clinic sample scored significantly higher on the 8 EDI scales than the nonpatient college comparison sample (n = 487).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

The relation between eating disorders and components of perfectionism.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to explore the relation between perfectionism and psychopathology, including eating disorders. METHOD: Using logistic regression, the authors calculated odds ratios for the associations between perfectionism subscale scores and psychiatric disorders in 1,010 female twins who completed the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale and participated in diagnostic interviews. RESULTS: Elevated concern over mistakes was associated with anorexia and bulimia nervosa but not with other psychiatric disorders. Doubts about actions was associated with eating and anxiety disorders. Multivariable models confirmed that higher scores on the subscales for concern over mistakes and doubts about actions were most strongly associated with eating disorders. CONCLUSIONS: The aspect of perfectionism captured by scores on a subscale measuring concern over mistakes may be particularly associated with eating disorders and not generically predictive of psychopathology.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

A twin study of dietary restraint, disinhibition and hunger: an examination of the eating inventory (three factor eating questionnaire).

The Eating Inventory (EI) is commonly used to measure a range of eating behaviors. It includes three subscales: Cognitive Restraint, Hunger, and Disinhibition. In this study, we decomposed the variance of the three subscales, and evaluated the genetic, common environment and specific environmental effects on each in a sample of female-female twin pairs. Multivariate models were also used to examine whether the EI represented three individual factors, or whether there was extensive covariance among subscales. Heritabilities were estimated at 45% (CI of 32-57%) for Disinhibition, 8% (CI of 0-38%) for Hunger, and 0% (CI of 0-30%) for Restraint. Common environmental influences were estimated at 0% (CI of 0-23%) for Disinhibition, 16% (CI of 0-34%) for Hunger, and 31% (4-42%) for Restraint. Specific environmental influences accounted for the rest of the variance of the subscales. However, multivariate modeling indicated that Disinhibition and Hunger covaried significantly, indicating that these two subscales are influenced by the same set of genetic factors. Furthermore, Restraint appeared to be empirically distinct from Hunger or Disinhibition.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

A cluster analysis of symptom patterns and adjustment in Vietnam combat veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder.

This study investigated whether a subgroup of veterans with malignant posttraumatic stress syndrome, as described by Rosenheck (1985) and Lambert et al. (1996), could be identified via cluster analysis within two samples of Vietnam veterans with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the initial subsample (n = 157), four clusters were identified, including a subgroup that scored consistently higher on measures of interpersonal violence and current physical problems. Similar results were found in the cross-validation subsample (n = 156). These results provide support for the theoretical concept of malignant PTSD and suggest that veterans with chronic PTSD are not homogenous. Whereas some manifest extreme levels of both functional impairment and PTSD symptomatology, others exhibit markedly less functional impairment despite manifesting clinically significant levels of PTSD. Clinicians can consider this heterogeneity in their treatment decisions.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed2002

MCMI-II profiles of women with eating disorders: a cluster analytic investigation.

A three-factor model of personality pathology was investigated in a clinical sample of 183 female patients in an outpatient eating disorders treatment program. Cluster analysis of MCMI-II personality scales (Millon, 1987) yielded three distinct personality profiles, which were consistent with previous studies. First, 16.9% of the sample comprised a High Functioning cluster, which manifested no clinical elevations on the MCMI-II and had significantly lower scores on the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI; Garner; 1991) scales than the other two clusters. Second, 49.1% of the sample comprised an Undercontrolled/Dysregulated cluster. Finally, the remaining 34% of the sample comprised an Overcontrolled/Avoidant cluster. This final cluster had significantly higher EDI Ineffectiveness scale scores than the Undercontrolled/Dysregulated cluster group. Cluster membership was not associated with eating disorder subtype, suggesting that there is considerable variance in personality pathology within eating disorder diagnostic categories.

Adult↗