Bullying and cyberbullying among LGBQ and heterosexual youth from an intersectional perspective: Findings from the 2017 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey

While LGBTQ youth may be victims of bullying at greater rates than heterosexual youth, research examining in-school bullying and cyberbullying victimization disparities through an intersectional framework is limited. Using the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the present study examined the prevalence of in-school bullying and cyberbullying victimization across sexual orientation, gender, race, and grade (N=13,567). Results position sexual minority youth at higher odds of experiencing in-school bullying and cyberbullying than heterosexual youth and show that bisexual youth were more likely than gay/lesbian youth to be cyberbullied. Findings from intersectional analyses show within group variation in bullying victimization across sexual orientation based on gender, grade, and race. Specific intersectional results and implications for in-school bullying and cyberbullying preventive and intervention efforts are discussed

Risky Decision Making in College Students as a Function of Self-Reported Eating Behaviors

Individuals with eating disorder diagnoses may experience difficulties with decision making, in which the focus is placed on immediate gains at the expense of long-term outcomes. Previous research showed decision making deficits in Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. However, many college-aged individuals engage in disordered eating behaviors (e.g., food restriction and ritualistic caloric consumption) that do not meet criteria for an eating disorder. We examined behavioral decision making in college students self-reporting a range of typical and atypical eating behaviors. Participants (n = 550) completed an online session that assessed eating behaviors. Of these, 110 participants then completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and Game of Dice Task (GDT) as part of a separate, in-lab session. A total of 11.27% of screening session participants scored above the cut-off score of 20 on the Eating Attitudes Test, indicating the presence of possible disordered eating behaviors. Multiple regressions indicated higher scores on the Eating Concern subscale of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire were associated with decreased risk-taking on the IGT (fewer Deck B selections, p = .006; greater Deck D selections, p = .010). We failed to find significant predictors of GDT performance, ps > .232. The present results suggest that decision making deficits seen in eating disorder samples may not be present in individuals self-reporting disordered eating behaviors. However, this initial examination utilized college student participants, and it is important for replication to occur.Keywords: eating behaviors, disordered eating, decision making, Iowa gambling task, game of dice tas

Understanding the relationship between negative emotional eating and binge eating: The moderating effects of acting with awareness and non-reactive mindfulness

Objectives: Negative emotional eating and binge eating are positively related, occur in diverse populations, and may be driven by similar mechanisms. Mindfulness facets such as acting with awareness, describe, non-judgement, non-reactive, and observe may moderate the relationship between these maladaptive eating phenotypes. Method: A cross-sectional study assessed emotional eating-depression (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised, depression subscale), trait mindfulness facets (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form), and binge eating severity (Binge Eating Scale) in adults (N=258). Results: Emotional eating-depression was less strongly associated with binge eating severity in participants with higher acting with awareness mindfulness. Emotional eating-depression was more strongly associated with binge eating severity in participants with higher non-reactive mindfulness. Conclusions: Acting with awareness and non-reactive mindfulness may be important treatment targets in concurrent presentations of emotional eating-depression and binge eating

Emotion regulation difficulties strengthen relationships between perceived parental feeding practices and emotional eating: Findings from a cross-sectional study

Background: People with emotional eating (EE) may experience weight gain and obesity, eating disorder psychopathology, and emotion dysregulation. Limited research has examined experiences in childhood that may be associated with EE in adulthood. Perceived parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties were examined as correlates of negative and positive EE in adulthood. Methods: A cross-sectional study using an online community sample of adults (N = 258) examined self-reported negative (Emotional Eating Scale-Revised; EE-anger/anxiety, EE-boredom, and EE-depression) and positive (Emotion Appetite Questionnaire; EE-positive) EE, perceived parental feeding practices (Child Feeding Questionnaire), and emotion regulation difficulties (Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale). Results: Moderation analyses calculated in PROCESS macro examined emotion regulation difficulties as a moderator of relationships between perceived parental feeding practices and EE. Across all models tested, age, BMI, and gender were entered as covariates. Higher perceptions of parental control (monitoring and restriction) of unhealthy eating behaviors and pressure to eat were more strongly associated with EE-anger/anxiety and EE-positive when emotion regulation difficulties were high. Higher perceptions of parental restriction of unhealthy eating behaviors and pressure to eat were more strongly associated with higher EE-boredom when emotion regulation difficulties were high. No significant interactions between perceived parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties emerged in relation to EE-depression. Conclusions: Perceived controlling parental feeding practices and emotion regulation difficulties may explain meaningful variance in negative and positive EE in adulthood

Effects of Linguistic Labels on Visual Attention in Children and Young Adults

Effects of linguistic labels on learning outcomes are well-established; however, developmental research examining possible mechanisms underlying these effects have provided mixed results. We used a novel paradigm where 8-year-olds and adults were simultaneously trained on three sparse categories (categories with many irrelevant or unique features and a single rule defining feature). Category members were either associated with the same label, different labels, or no labels (silent baseline). Similar to infant paradigms, participants passively viewed individual exemplars and we examined fixations to category relevant features across training. While it is well established that adults can optimize their attention in forced-choice categorization tasks without linguistic input, the present findings provide support for label induced attention optimization: simply hearing the same label associated with different exemplars was associated with increased attention to category relevant features over time, and participants continued to focus on these features on a subsequent recognition task. Participants also viewed images longer and made more fixations when images were paired with unique labels. These findings provide support for the claim that labels may facilitate categorization by directing attention to category relevant features

Auditory Stimuli Slow Down Responses and First Fixations: Support for Auditory Dominance in Adults

Under some situations sensory modalities compete for attention, with one modality attenuating processing in a second modality. Almost forty years of research with adults has shown that this competition is typically won by the visual modality. Using a discrimination task on an eye tracker, the current research provides novel support for auditory dominance, with words and nonlinguistic sounds slowing down visual processing. At the same time, there was no evidence suggesting that visual input slowed down auditory processing. Several eye tracking variables correlated with behavioral responses. Of particular interest is the finding that adults’ first fixations were delayed when images were paired with auditory input, especially nonlinguistic sounds. This finding is consistent with neurophysiological findings and also consistent with a potential mechanism underlying auditory dominance effect

The Chinese version of the Functionality Appreciation Scale: Psychometric properties and measurement invariance across gender and age

Abstract Background Functionality appreciation, as an important aspect of positive image, is associated with fewer body image disturbances, fewer disordered eating behaviors, and improved psychological well-being. However, it has been under-researched in Asian countries. The current work aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Functionality Appreciation Scale (FAS) among four Chinese samples of different ages, and further examine measurement invariance and differences of the FAS across gender and age groups. Methods Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) were conducted to examine the factorial structure of the FAS among four Chinese samples of different ages, including middle school adolescents (n = 894, M age  = 12.17 years), high school adolescents (n = 1347, M age  = 15.07 years), young adults (n = 473, M age  = 21.95 years), and older adults (n = 313, M age  = 67.90 years). The measurement invariance of the FAS across gender and age was examined. Internal consistency reliability and construct validity were evaluated. Results The FAS had a unidimensional structure and was invariant across gender and age groups. The FAS presented sound psychometric properties in all age groups by gender, with good internal consistency reliability [e.g., high Cronbach’s α values (.91 ~ .97)] and good construct validity (e.g., significant associations with body appreciation, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating). Moreover, group comparisons showed minimal gender differences in functionality appreciation. However, significant age differences were found in functionality appreciation, with older ages generally associated with higher functionality appreciation. Conclusion Overall, findings suggest that the FAS is a sound instrument to be used in the Chinese context. Furthermore, functionality appreciation was found to be higher in older adults than adolescents or young adults, suggesting the potential important role of aging in functionality appreciation

Better Together: A Pilot Study on for Adults With Developmental Disabilities and Direct Support Professionals

Adults with developmental disabilities face barriers to making healthy lifestyle choices that mirror the barriers faced by the direct support professionals who serve them. These two populations, direct support professionals and adults with developmental disabilities, are likely to lead inactive lifestyles, eat unhealthy diets, and be obese. Moreover, direct support professionals influence the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and health behaviors of the adults with developmental disabilities whom they serve. We piloted a cooking-based nutrition education program, Cooking Matters for Adults , to dyads of adults with developmental disabilities (n = 8) and direct support professionals (n = 7). Team-taught by a volunteer chef and nutrition educator, Cooking Matters for Adults uses an active learning approach to teach food preparation safety skills and nutrition knowledge to inform healthy food and beverage choices. We assessed healthy food preparation, intake of a balanced diet, healthy food and beverage choices, and cooking confidence and barriers at pre-test, post-test, and 6-months after the intervention. Among both adults with developmental disabilities and direct support professionals, positive trends in healthy food preparation, eating a balanced diet, and reduction in cooking barriers were observed at post-test and 6-months. We also qualitatively assessed knowledge of and attitudes toward healthy eating, frequency of food and beverage intake, knowledge about kitchen skills and safety, as well as overall satisfaction, cooking confidence, and acceptability of the dyad approach. Participants with developmental disabilities and direct support professionals reported that they learned about healthy food and beverage choices and various cooking skills. Participants reported confidence in skills learned and were satisfied with the intervention and approach of including adults with developmental disabilities and direct support professionals in the intervention together

Integrating the tripartite influence, minority stress, and social comparison theories to explain body image and disordered eating in Chinese sexual minority men and women

Theories of eating pathology explain body image and disordered eating in diverse populations, including sexual minority (SM) individuals. Yet, previous efforts to extend theories of eating pathology to SM individuals have mostly focused on Western populations. The present study integrated the tripartite influence, minority stress, and social comparison models to explain variance in body image and disordered eating in Chinese SM men and women. Chinese self-identified SM adults (N = 1051; n = 519 men, n = 532 women) completed an online, cross-sectional study that assessed sociocultural influences (e.g., tripartite influence), minority stress, social comparisons, drive for muscularity, and disordered eating. Two integrated models were tested for men and women using structural equation modeling. Across both populations, sociocultural influences exerted the largest direct positive effects on body image and disordered eating. In men, only downward body image comparisons were uniquely related to outcomes. In women, higher upward body image comparisons were uniquely associated with higher drive for muscularity and higher downward body image comparisons were uniquely associated with higher thinness-oriented disordered eating. Minority stressors (e.g., sexual orientation concealment, internalized homophobia) were uniquely related to outcomes in men, not women. Findings extend existing theories of body image and disordered eating to Chinese SM populations.</p

Translation and validation of a Chinese version of the body talk scale for women and men

Abstract Body talk has received increasing research attention in recent years, with accumulating evidence supporting the link between body talk and eating and body image disturbances. However, research on body talk in China is still relatively scarce and generally focused on fat talk, especially in women, and much remains unknown about muscle talk and positive body talk for both Chinese women and men. To promote a better understanding of body talk in the Chinese context, the present study adapted the Body Talk Scale (BTS) into Chinese Mandarin (i.e., C-BTS) and evaluated the factor structure and psychometric properties of the C-BTS in Chinese adult women and men. The English version of the BTS was translated into Chinese Mandarin with standard procedures. With 300 Chinese women (M age = 29.48 years, SD = 7.26) and 300 men (M age = 29.36 years, SD = 6.81), we examined the factor structure and gender invariance of the C-BTS, as well as internal consistency reliability, test–retest reliability, and construct validity, including convergent, concurrent, and incremental validity of the C-BTS. The results indicated that, consistent with the development study of the BTS, the C-BTS had three subscales (i.e., Negative Fat Talk, Negative Muscle Talk, and Positive Body Talk) and good reliability and validity. The findings demonstrate that the C-BTS can be a useful measure of body talk in both Chinese women and men