Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Ψυχική Υγεία και Ψυχιατρική Παιδιών και ΕφήβωνLibrary of the School of Health Sciences
Supervisors info:
Ευαγγελία Γαλανάκη, Καθηγήτρια, Παιδαγωγικό Τμήμα Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεώργιος Γιαννακόπουλος, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Γεράσιμος Κολαΐτης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Original Title:
Μοναξιά και κατάθλιψη στην εφηβεία: Ο ρόλος του σωματικού βάρους και του κοινωνικού σωματικού άγχους
Translated title:
Loneliness and depression in adolescence: The role of body mass index and social physique anxiety
Summary:
Loneliness and depression are two internalizing problems that reach their peak during adolescence and constitute a threat to adolescents’ mental and physical health. The aim of the present study was to investigate to what extent and in what ways loneliness and depression are associated with body mass index and social physique anxiety in adolescence. Participants were 290 high school students (Mage = 16.4 years, SD = 1.00) from Athens, Greece. They completed the Loneliness and Aloneness Scale for Children and Adolescents (Goossens & Maes, 2017), the Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale – 2nd edition (Reynolds, 2002) and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (Hart et al., 1989). Also, body mass index was calculated, and socio-demographic information was collected. Exploratory factor analyses and Cronbach’s alpha coefficients indicated that the scales had adequate validity and reliability. Results showed that high social physique anxiety was associated with a greater likelihood of loneliness and, even more, depression symptoms. No association was found between body mass index and levels of loneliness and depression. Regression analyses also showed that body mass index and social physique anxiety combined accounted for a significant amount of variance in loneliness, depression and their components. However, this prediction was stronger for social physique anxiety than for body mass index. Statistically significant gender effects were found for several variables. The main finding of this study is that loneliness and depression in adolescence are not associated with body mass index per se but rather with anxiety about the evaluation of one’s body by others. Results are interpreted in the framework of the existing literature, limitations are identified, suggestions for future research are made, and implications for clinical practice are discussed.
Main subject category:
Health Sciences
Keywords:
Loneliness, Depression, Body mass index, Social physique anxiety, Adolescence
Number of references:
186
