1. Individual protective factors:
- The most important protective factors for children and adolescents are (Levine and Smolak, 2006):
(1) positive body image
(2) an active lifestyle
(3) good eating habits
(4) eating that satisfies hunger
(5) communal eating
(6) abstinence from cigarettes and use of other drugs
(7) good coping skills and the ability manage stress by means other than weight management and eating
Here are some important research findings:
- Lower frequency of alcohol and drug use is related to less risk of eating problems in middle school boys. (Aime et al, 2008). Protecting teen teens from using alcohol and other illicit chemical substances will help prevent disordered eating problems.
- Among adolescents, mild disordered eating that has been caught early prevents increased, serious problems with eating from developing later on. It is important to intervene in emerging eating problems and not assume they are a phase that will pass. Transient eating problems will not vanish without intervention. (Aime et al, 2008)
- Among male adolescents and adults, lower depression was related to lower eating pathology. (Aime et al, 2008)
- People who have lower levels of interpersonal distress and feel like they are more effective in resolving interpersonal problems are less likely to turn to dieting and extreme weight management as a way to quiet distress and feel effective and competent in relationships (Cain et al, 2008).
- High self-esteem and less self-criticism and perfectionism are associated with fewer eating disorders (Bardone-Cone et al, 2008; Fennig et al, 2008; Speranza et al, 2003).
- The ability to identify and express feelings and the ability to distinguish emotional feelings from physical sensations appears to be associated with fewer eating disorders. The opposite, alexithymia or the inability to identify and process feelings, is common in eating disorders. In general, better emotional regulation skills seems to be a protective factor. (Speranza et al, 2005).
- Being able to stay in contact with (not avoid) negative moods, unpleasant feelings, and thoughts helps prevent turning to eating disorders to anesthetize or numb out unpleasant thoughts and feelings.
