Exploring the relationships of psychological characteristics and disordered eating behaviors with dieting among college students

Adolescents and emerging adults are vulnerable to unhealthy dieting and disordered eating behaviors, yet little research has comprehensively explored these relationships. College students, in particular, are susceptible to dieting behaviors that may place them at risk for disordered eating. However, much of the prior research about dieting specifically focuses on weight loss rather than defining dieting more generally as an eating pattern. Additionally previous research has not comprehensively examined associations of dieting with psychological characteristics (like grit and impulsivity) and disordered eating behaviors (like purging behaviors, dietary restraint, and binge eating) among college students. Thus, to fill the gaps in the literature the objective of this study was to explore the relationships of psychological characteristics and disordered eating behaviors with dieting among college students. In a secondary analysis from a cross-sectional study, undergraduate college students from Rutgers University were recruited to complete an online survey that utilized reliable and valid instruments that assessed eating attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, mindful eating, and binge eating) along with psychological (e.g., body satisfaction, impulsiveness, and grit) and sociodemographic characteristics. Participants were recruited from Rutgers University to complete a Qualtrics® online survey focused on eating attitudes and behaviors during the 2018-2019 academic school year. Descriptive statistics of all variables and stratified by dieters vs. non-dieters and gender were conducted. Frequency and percentages of types of diets followed by dieters stratified by gender were also performed. Independent t-tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables were performed to determine significant sociodemographic, weight status, disordered eating behaviors and psychological characteristic differences between dieters vs. non-dieters by gender. Effect sizes of these relationships were conducted using Cohen’s d and Cramer’s V. All analyses were performed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 26.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) with significance level set a priori at p < 0.05. Out of 1792 participants (White 38.56%, 20.36±1.32SD years of age), 29.9% (n=536) reported following some form of a dietary regimen in the last year. The top four common diets followed in the last year were Vegetarian (13.05%), Lactose Free/Dairy Free (6.13%), Macronutrient/Calorie Count (4.57%), and Vegan (2.79%). Chi-square tests revealed women (30.74%, n=356) were significantly (p<0.05) more likely to diet compared to men (28.39%, n=180). Independent t-tests showed dieters (n=536) were significantly (p