Rural/urban differences in the distribution of eating disorder symptoms among adolescents from community samples.
OBJECTIVE
Rural/urban differences in the prevalence of mental disorders have often been reported in the last 30 years, among others in the distribution of eating disorder symptoms and suicide rates. The role of sex, age and socioeconomic status in the differences by place of residence has often been neglected in past studies.


METHODS
Two independent community samples of students (mean age=17.4 years, SD=1.4), taken from among those attending high school in an urban district (Cagliari; n=817) and in a rural one (Carbonia; n=507) of south Sardinia, Italy, were invited to fill in the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), the Bulimic Investigatory Test of Edinburgh (BITE), the Body Attitudes Test (BAT) and the revised Hopkins Symptom checklist (SCL-90-R).


RESULTS
Female students scored higher than male students on all inventories. In male participants, the scores on the EAT were higher in the urban than in the rural sample. Conversely, in both male and female students the rural sample reported higher scores on the BITE symptoms subscale. When the comparison was confined to the fraction of those who scored higher than the suggested cut-off on the EAT and the BITE, students in the urban sample outnumbered those in the rural sample. No other differences were found. Socioeconomic status and age did not influence the differences in the reporting of eating disorder symptoms by place of residence.


CONCLUSIONS
Although caution is required when reading the findings drawn from self-report instruments, it is evident that the factors influencing the distribution of eating disorder symptoms and their psychological correlates by place of residence are far more complex than currently thought.
Preti
Antonio
A
Department of Psychology, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy. apreti@tin.it
Pinna
Claudia
C
Nocco
Silvia
S
Pilia
Simona
S
Mulliri
Emanuela
E
Micheli
Valeria
V
Casta
Maria Consuleo
MC
Petretto
Donatella Rita
DR
Masala
Carmelo
C
D000293:Adolescent; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*