Body image satisfaction, self-esteem, and perfectionism as predictors of eating disorder symptoms in pregnant women

U razvoju simptoma poremećaja hranjenja sudjeluju brojni psihološki čimbenici, a među najistaknutije ubrajaju se depresivnost, samopoštovanje, nezadovoljstvo slikom tijela, perfekcionizam te anksioznost. Međutim, dosadašnja istraživanja posvetila su jako malo pažnje ispitivanju simptoma poremećaja hranjenja kod trudnica kod kojih se slika o tijelu mijenja u trudnoći. Stoga je cilj ovog istraživanja bio ispitati učestalost simptoma poremećaja hranjenja kod trudnica te ispitati određuju li te simptome zadovoljstvo tijelom, samopoštovanje i perfekcionizam (nakon kontroliranja indeksa tjelesne mase prije trudnoće, mase dobivene u trudnoći, simptoma depresije i anksioznosti) kod trudnica kojima je propisana dijeta od strane liječnika i kojima nije propisana dijeta. U jednokratnom korelacijskom istraživanju sudjelovalo je 285 trudnica koje su u trudničkoj ambulanti anonimno ispunile upitnike za mjerenje simptoma poremećaja hranjenja, točnije Upitnik navika hranjenja i Skalu adolescentnog držanja dijete, upitnike zadovoljstva slikom tijela, samopoštovanja, perfekcionizma, depresivnosti i anksioznosti te upitnik općih podataka. Rezultati pokazuju da 1-3% žena izvještava o klinički značajnim simptomima poremećaja hranjenja u trudnoći. Svakoj četvrtoj trudnici (27%) je liječnik propisao dijetu zbog medicinskih razloga. Međutim, i u skupini trudnica kojima nije propisana dijeta, 21,7% trudnica je ipak provodilo dijetu tijekom trudnoće. Hijerarhijskom regresijskom analizom utvrđeno je da se simptomi poremećaja hranjenja mogu predvidjeti većim indeksom tjelesne mase, većim pozitivnim perfekcionizmom i anksioznošću. Međutim, anksioznost je imala različitu ulogu u predviđanju simptoma poremećaja hranjenja kod trudnica s propisanom i bez propisane dijete. Naime, dok višu razinu simptoma poremećaja hranjenja kod trudnica s propisanom dijetom predviđa niska anksioznost, kod trudnica bez propisane dijete predviđa visoka anksioznost. Zaključno, značajan udio žena je pokazao rizična ponašanja i simptome poremećaja hranjenja što bi trebalo uključiti u trijažu kao sastavni dio standardne prenatalne skrbi.Different psychological determinants play a role in the development of eating disorder symptoms, among which are depressiveness, self-esteem, body image dissatisfaction, perfectionism, and anxiety. However, previous studies have rarely been focused on eating disorder symptoms in pregnant women in which body image changes during pregnancy. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the occurrence of eating disorder symptoms in pregnant women and to examine whether they could be predicted by body image satisfaction, self-esteem, and perfectionism (after controlling for Body Mass Index, gestational weight gain, depression and anxiety symptoms) in women with and without diet prescribed by their physician. In the cross-sectional study conducted at prenatal clinic, 285 pregnant women anonymously filled out questionnaires measuring eating disorders symptoms, i.e. Eating Attitudes Test and Adolescent Dieting Scale, body image satisfaction, self-esteem, perfectionism, depressiveness, and anxiety. The results show that 1-3% of women reported clinically significant eating disorder symptoms during pregnancy. One in four women was prescribed a diet (27%) for medical reasons by their physician. However, out of pregnant women who were not prescribed a diet, still 21.7% engaged in dieting. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that eating disorder symptoms could be predicted by higher body mass index, higher positive perfectionism, and anxiety. Anxiety had a differential role in predicting dieting behaviour in women who were prescribed a diet or not. In fact, higher levels of eating disorder symptoms in women with a prescribed diet were predicted by low anxiety levels, while in women who were not prescribed with a diet higher levels of eating disorder symptoms were predicted by high anxiety levels. In conclusion, a notable proportion of women do report risky eating behaviours and attitudes which should be screened for as an integral part of standard prenatal care