Introduction: Adolescence and young adulthood represents a critical period for the development of eating disorders (ED) with many risk factors playing a role.
Purpose The objective of this study was to longitudinally assess bio-psycho-social risk factors playing a role in the development and maintenance of ED in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) aged between 15 and 24 years.
Methods: We used data of two waves, T1 (2015-2016) and T3 (2017-2018), of the longitudinal GenerationFRee study. Participants (N = 1311) answered the SCOFF screening questionnaire (cut-off≥2), and the sample was divided into four groups labelled as Negative (SCOFF: negative at T1 and T3), Current (SCOFF: negative at T1 and positive at T3), Former (SCOFF: positive at T1 and negative at T3) and Positive (SCOFF: positive at T1 and T3). Different variables were included in the bivariate analysis: gender, age, place of birth, place of residence, academic track, perceived school performance, parental situation, AYA-parent relationship, socioeconomical status (SES), health-related variables (body mass index (BMI), perceived pubertal timing, chronic condition, emotional well-being, perceived general health), substance use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis), physical activity and problematic Internet use. All statistically significant variables (p<0.05) at the bivariate level were included in a backward multinomial logistic regression analysis using the Negative group as the reference category.
Results: Female gender, increased BMI and poor emotional well-being were associated with the Current, Former and Positive groups. In addition, participants in the Former group were also more likely to have a low socioeconomical status. Finally, participants in the Positive group were also more likely to have a low socioeconomical status and a problematic Internet use.
Conclusions: ED are associated with a large spectrum of bio-psycho-social risk factors during adolescence and young adulthood. Screening for specific risk patterns rather than being focused on eating symptoms is a good way to identify AYAs potentially having an ED in order to treat them properly. The SCOFF questionnaire is therefore useful and should be used more frequently by health professionals.