title: The association between sports participation and athletic identity with eating pathology among college-aged males and females.
abstract: The current study examined associations among sports participation (SP), athletic identity (AI), weight status, and eating pathology, and whether these relations differed by gender. Data come from male and female first-year college students who participated in the Tufts Longitudinal Health Study (TLHS) between 1999-2007 (N=712). Relations among SP, AI, actual and perceived weight statuses, Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) subscale scores, and indices of body shape concern and restrictive eating were examined with hierarchical ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Associations between SP and eating pathology among females were moderated by perceived weight status. By contrast, relations between males' EDI subscales scores and SP were moderated by ethnicity, as well as by actual weight status. Our findings support that sports participation alone neither promotes nor protects against eating pathology among males and females.
authors: Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA. kristen.e.fay@gmail.com
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Fay
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Economos
authors: R M
authors: RM
authors: Lerner
authors: A E
authors: AE
authors: Becker
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Sacheck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012933:Social Identification; D013177:Sports / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult