title: Weight Status as a Mediator of the Association Between Preschool Extraversion and Adolescent Restrained Eating.
abstract: To determine the longitudinal association between preschool extraversion and weight/dieting outcomes in adolescence.
  
  
  
  Children (N = 180) were recruited as part of a longitudinal study, with child temperament assessed in preschool (age 5.25 years), weight assessed in 2nd grade and early adolescence, and eating outcomes assessed in early adolescence (mean age = 12.02 years).
  
  
  
  Preschoolers high in extraversion were significantly more likely to have higher body mass index z-scores (zBMI) and more restrained eating behaviors in adolescence. zBMI was found to mediate the relationship between extraversion and restrained eating, such that children with high levels of extraversion were more likely to have higher zBMI in adolescence and, owing to this higher weight status, to engage in more restrained eating.
  
  
  
  Temperament is an important predictor of later maladaptive weight/dieting outcomes in adolescence, making it a potentially important early factor to consider in weight management interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hankey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
authors.forename: Katherine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Kidwell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.|Office of Research, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
authors.forename: Jennifer Mize
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.|Department of Psychology, University of Arizona.
authors.forename: Kimberly Andrews
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Espy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: adolescents; children; longitudinal research; weight management