Body image as a mediator in the relationship between psychotic experiences and later disordered eating: A 12-month longitudinal study in high school adolescents

• Published in: European psychiatry 2024-08, Vol.67 (S1), p.S559-S560
• Main Authors: Houissa, L, Hallit, S, Cheour, M, Loch, A A, Fekih-Romdhane, F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body image; Eating behavior; Family income; Longitudinal studies; Overweight; Psychosis; Questionnaires; Self image; Students; Teenagers
• ISSN: 0924-9338; 1778-3585
• DOI: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.1164

IntroductionPsychotic experiences (PE) and disordered eating (DE) are frequently observed among the general population, especially in childhood and adolescence. However, the relationship between the two groups of disorders is still unclear.ObjectivesTo explore the hypothesis that the pathways from PEs to DE are mediated by body-image disturbances in a sample of adolescentsMethodsWe conducted a 12-month longitudinal study on high school students from four different high schools from the Ariana governorate, from April 2022 to April 2023.Participants were evaluated at baseline then every 6 months with a target length of follow-up of 1 year.The questionnaire containedQuestions about socio demographic variablesThe Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26)The Multidimensionnal Body Self-Relations Questionnaire Appearance Scale (MBSRQ-AS)The Community Assesment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE-42)Results1) Sample characteristicsSample was constituted of 510 individuals. Of those, 312 (61.2%) were females. Mean age was of 16.05 (SD=1.01) years.The majority of the students resided in urban areas, accounting for 97.8% of the total.When it comes to family income, 4.1% of the students’ families had an income of less than 1000 Tunisian Dinars (TD), 25.9% had an income between 1000 and 2000 TD, 32.2% had an income ranging from 2000 to 3000 TD, and the remaining 37.8% had a family income of over 3000 TD.The EAT-26, MBSRQ-AS and CAPE-42 scores are shown in table 1.Table 1.The longitudinal evolution of study variablesBaselineT 6 monthsT 12 monthspPartial Eta Squared η2Disordered eating (EAT-26)11.9 ± 9.411.9 ± 9.712.6 ± 10.2.080.006Self-classified weight (Body image)6.0 ± 1.75.9 ± 1.66.0 ± 1.6.946.001Body areas satisfaction30.9 ± 6.431.8 ± 6.431.4 ± 6.8.025.010Overweight preoccupation9.3 ± 3.69.2 ± 3.79.2 ± 3.7.545.001Appearance Orientation41.0 ± 5.441.6 ± 5.441.6 ± 5.5.007.014CAPE positive dimension (total)39.6 ± 8.739.1 ± 9.139.7 ± 9.5.756.001Body Mass index21.6 ± 3.421.5 ± 3.221.7 ± 3.2.034.0092) Findings of the mediating analysisDisordered Eating scores had no significant effect in subjects across time. However, the effect of the interaction between baseline Overweight Preoccupation with Disordered Eating across time was statistically significant (p=0.036). Overweight Preoccupation (Z=85.095, p