Examining the Moderating Role of Specific Coping Strategies on the Relationship between Body Image and Eating Disorders in College-Age Women

A sample of college age women assessed at three time points (Time 1: Baseline, assessed before college, Time 2: End of first semester, Time 3: End of first year of college) completed measures of disordered eating, coping, and body image. Results indicated that neither adaptive (problem-focused coping or social support seeking) nor maladaptive coping styles (active emotional coping or avoidant coping) as measured at Time 1 or Time 2 moderated the significant predictive relationship between body dissatisfaction at Time 1 and disordered eating attitudes at Time 3, when adjusting for disordered eating attitudes and BMI at Time 1. However, significant main effects of certain coping strategies indicate that while coping does not moderate the relationship between body image and disordered eating, coping may still be an important area for intervention. Future research needs to continue to examine the complex relationship between coping, body image, and disordered eating