Attachment style and weight concerns in preadolescent and adolescent girls

Abstract

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the association between attachment style and weight concerns, a major risk factor for eating disorders, in preadolescent and adolescent girls. Method: Three hundred and five female elementary and middle school students completed measures of attachment style and weight concerns. Results: Insecurely attached subjects reported higher weight concerns than did securely attached subjects. A greater proportion of insecurely attached subjects obtained “at risk” weight concerns scores than securely attached subjects. Discussion: The findings suggest that attachment style may play an important role in the development of weight concerns, which, in turn, have been shown to be associated with the onset of eating disorders. © 1998 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 23: 39–44, 1998.