Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Eating disorder features and quality of life: Does gender matter?

  • Published:
Quality of Life Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study examined whether gender moderates the associations between eating disorder features and quality-of-life impairment and whether eating disorder features can explain gender differences in quality of life in a sample of undergraduate students.

Methods

The SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary Scales were used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) was used to quantify eating disorder behaviors and cognitions. These self-report forms were completed by undergraduate men and women (n = 709).

Results

Gender was a significant predictor of mental HRQoL, such that women in this sample reported poorer mental HRQoL than men. Eating disorder cognitions were the strongest predictor of undergraduate students’ mental and physical HRQoL, while binge eating negatively predicted their physical HRQoL only. Gender was not found to moderate the associations between eating disorder features and HRQoL, and eating disorder cognitions were found to mediate the association between gender and mental HRQoL such that a proportion of the difference between undergraduate men and women’s mental HRQoL was attributable to eating disorder cognitions.

Conclusion

This study provided further evidence of the significant impact of eating disorder features, particularly eating disorder cognitions, on HRQoL. The finding that gender did not moderate the relationships between eating disorder features and HRQoL indicates the importance of investigating these features in both men and women in future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. DeJong, H., Odershaw, A., Sternheim, L., et al. (2013). Quality of life in anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not-otherwise-specified. Journal of Eating Disorders, 1(43), 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Jenkins, P. E., Hoste, R. R., Meyer, C., & Blissett, J. M. (2011). Eating disorders and quality of life: A review of the literature. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(1), 113–121.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bijl, R. V., & Ravelli, A. (2000). Current and residual functional disability associated with psychopathology- Findings from the Netherlands Mental Health Survey and Incidence Study (NEMESIS). Psychological Medicine, 30(3), 657–668.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bentley, C., Mond, J., & Rodgers, B. (2014). Sex differences in psychosocial impairment associated with eating-disordered behavior: What if there aren’t any? Eating Behaviors, 15(4), 609–614.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Mond, J., Mitchison, D., Latner, J., Hay, P., Owen, C., & Rodgers, B. (2013). Quality of life impairment associated with body dissatisfaction in a general population sample of women. BMC Public Health, 13, 920.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Jenkins, P. E., Hoste, R. R., Doyle, A. C., et al. (2014). Health-related quality of life among adolescents with eating disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 76(1), 1–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Latner, J. D., Mond, J. M., Vallance, J. K., Gleaves, D. H., & Buckett, G. (2013). Quality of life impairment and the attitudinal and behavioral features of eating disorders. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 201(7), 592–597.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Sanftner, J. L. (2011). Quality of life in relation to psychosocial risk variables for eating disorders in women and men. Eating Behaviors, 12(2), 136–142.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Mitchison, D., & Mond, J. (2015). Epidemiology of eating disorders, eating disordered behaviour, and body image disturbance in males: A narrative review. Journal of Eating Disorders, 3(1). doi:10.1186/s40337-015-0058-y.

  10. Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., Moerk, K. C., & Striegel-Moore, R. H. (2002). Gender differences in eating disorder symptoms in young adults. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 4, 426–440.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Mitchison, D., Mond, J., Slewa-Younan, S., & Hay, P. (2013). Sex differences in health-related quality of life impairment associated with eating disorder features: A general population study. International Journal Eating Disorders, 46(4), 375–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Mond, J. M., & Hay, P. J. (2007). Functional impairment associated with bulimic behaviors in a community sample of men and women. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(5), 391–398.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Linzer, M., Spitzer, R., Kroenke, K., et al. (1996). Gender, quality of life, and mental disorders in primary care: Results from the PRIME-MD 10000 study. The American Journal of Medicine, 101, 526–533.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Fairburn, C. G., & Beglin, S. J. (1994). Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self-report questionnaire? International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16(4), 363–370.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Peterson, C. B., Crosby, R. D., Wonderlich, S. A., et al. (2007). Psychometric properties of the eating disorder examination-questionnaire: Factor structure and internal consistency. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40(4), 386–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. White, H. J., Haycraft, E., Goodwin, H., & Meyer, C. (2014). Eating disorder examination questionnaire: Factor structure for adolescent girls and boys. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(1), 99–104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Carter, J. C., Aime, A. A., & Mills, J. S. (2001). Assessment of Bulimia Nervosa: A comparison of interview and self-report questionnaire methods. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 30(2), 187–192.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Luce, K. H., & Crowther, H. J. (1999). The reliability of the Eating Disorder Examination–Self-Report Questionnaire Version (EDE-Q). International Journal of Eating Disorders, 25(3), 349–351.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Hay, P. J., & Mond, J. M. (2005). How to ‘count the cost’ and measure burden? A review of health-related quality of life in people with eating disorders. Journal of Mental Health, 14(6), 539–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. (1996). A 12-item short-form health survey: Construction of scales and preliminary reliability and validity. Medical Care, 34(3), 220–233.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Hays, R. D. (1998). RAND-36 Health Status Inventory. San Antonio: The Psychological Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Paxton, S. J., et al. (2010). Eating disorders “mental health literacy” in low risk, high risk and symptomatic women: Implications for health promotion programs. Eating Disorders, 18, 267–285.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Raque-Bogdan, T. L., Ericson, S. K., Jackson, J., Martin, H. M., & Bryan, N. A. (2011). Attachment and mental and physical health: Self-compassion and mattering as mediators. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(2), 272–278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., & Owen, C. (2011). Mental health impairment associated with eating-disorder features in a community sample of women. Journal of Mental Health, 20(5), 456–466.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., & Owen, C. (2007). Recurrent binge eating with and without the “undue influence of weight or shape on self-evaluation”: Implications for the diagnosis of binge eating disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45, 929–938.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Hayes, A. F. (2014). PROCESS macro (Version 2.13) [Software]. http://www.processmacro.org/download.html.

  27. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., & Owen, C. (2006). Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q): Norms for young adult women. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44, 53–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Heck, R., & Thomas, S. (2015). An introduction to multilevel modeling techniques: MLM and SEM approaches using Mplus (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Rubin, D. B. (1987). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. New York: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  31. Gamma, A., & Angst, J. (2001). Concurrent psychiatric comorbidity and multimorbidity in a community study: Gender differences and quality of life. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, 251(2), 43–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Garner, R. E., Feeny, D. H., Thompson, A., et al. (2012). Bodyweight, gender, and quality of life: A population-based longitudinal study. Quality of Life Research, 21(5), 813–825.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. White, S., Reynolds-Malear, J. B., & Cordero, E. (2011). Disordered eating and the use of unhealthy weight control methods in college students: 1995, 2002, and 2008. Eating Disorders: Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 19(4), 323–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Wilfley, D. E., Schwartz, M. B., Spurrell, E. B., & Fairburn, C. G. (1997). Assessing the specific psychopathology of binge eating disorder patients: Interview or self-report? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35(12), 1151–1159.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Mitchison, D., Hay, P. J., Morin, A., Slewa-Younan, S., & Mond, J. M. (2015). The bidirectional relationship between quality of life and eating disorder symptoms: A 9-year community-based study of Australian women. PLoS One, 10(3), e0120591. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120591.

  36. Mond, J. M., Hay, P. J., Rodgers, B., Owen, C., & Beumont, P. J. V. (2005). Assessing quality of life in eating disorder patients. Quality of Life Research, 14, 171–178.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Engel, S. G., Wittrock, D. A., Crosby, R. D., Wonderlich, S. A., Mitchell, J. E., & Kolotkin, R. L. (2006). Development and validation of an eating-disorder specific health-related quality of life instrument. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 39(1), 62–71.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Bohn, K., & Fairburn, C. G. (2008). Clinical Impairment Assessment Questionnaire (CIA 3.0) Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eating disorders. New York: Guilford Press.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Hawai`i at Manoa, 2530 Campus Road, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA

    Allison F. Wagner, Emily C. Stefano, David C. Cicero & Janet D. Latner

  2. Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Jonathan M. Mond

Authors
  1. Allison F. Wagner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emily C. Stefano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David C. Cicero
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Janet D. Latner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jonathan M. Mond
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Allison F. Wagner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wagner, A.F., Stefano, E.C., Cicero, D.C. et al. Eating disorder features and quality of life: Does gender matter?. Qual Life Res 25, 2603–2610 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1283-9

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1283-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation