Sexual violence, weight perception, and eating disorder indicators in college females.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationships between sexual violence experiences, inaccurate body weight perceptions, and the presence of eating disorder (ED) indicators in a sample of female US college students.


METHODS
Participants were 6,090 college females 25 years of age and younger.


METHODS
A secondary analysis of National College Health Assessment data gathered annually at one institution from 2004 to 2013 was utilized. A model predicting ED indicators was tested using logistic regression analyses with multiple categorical variables representing severity of sexual violence, accuracy of body weight perception, and an interaction between the two.


RESULTS
Sexual violence and inaccurate body weight perception significantly predicted ED indicators; sexual violence was the strongest predictor of purging behavior, whereas inaccurate body weight perception was best predicted by underweight status.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings provide support to the relationship between purging behavior and severity of sexual violence and also to the link between inaccurate body weight perception and being underweight.
a College of Social Work, Florida State University , Tallahassee , Florida , USA.
Sara
S
Groff Stephens
a College of Social Work, Florida State University , Tallahassee , Florida , USA.
Dina J
DJ
Wilke
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D014892:Weight Perception; D055815:Young Adult
Body weight perception, college; eating disorder; eating disorder indicators; sexual violence; unwanted sexual experiences