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The relevance of weight stigma as an important factor in disordered eating has been supported by research. However, because most of the studies were cross-sectional and focussed on older children, the causal relationships could not be fully determined in childhood. The current study explores the role of weight stigma in body dissatisfaction and eating behaviours. The sample consisted of 773 girls and 713 boys, aged 6–11 years, who completed surveys assessing weight stigma experiences, body dissatisfaction and eating behaviours at two points of measurement, approximately one year apart. The children's external and disordered eating was rated via parental questionnaires. As expected, the pattern of the associations between weight status, weight stigma, body dissatisfaction and eating behaviours differed by gender. Experience of weight stigma in girls led to external and restrained eating one year later, whereas in boys no such association was observed. Body dissatisfaction mediated the association between weight stigma and restrained eating behaviours in girls, whereas in boys, body dissatisfaction directly influenced restrained eating behaviours. However, in both girls and boys weight status predicted body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, while weight stigma did not have a direct effect on disordered eating. Results suggest that interventions involving weight stigma should be a part of eating disorder prevention programmes, and gender-specific pathways should be considered.
Background: Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal substance among adolescents and young adults. Problematic cannabis use is often associated with comorbid psychopathological problems. The purpose of the current study was to elucidate the underlying developmental processes connecting externalizing and internalizing psychopathology in childhood and adolescence with problematic cannabis use in young adulthood. Methods: Data were drawn from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk, an ongoing epidemiological cohort study from birth to adulthood. For n = 307 participants, symptom scores of conduct/oppositional defiant disorder, attention problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and internalizing disorders were available for the periods of childhood (4.5-11 years) and adolescence (15 years). At age 25 years, problematic cannabis use was assessed via clinical interview and a self-rating questionnaire. Results: At age 25 years, problematic cannabis use was identified in n = 28 participants (9.1%). Childhood conduct/oppositional behavior problems were predictive of problematic cannabis use during young adulthood when comorbid symptoms were controlled for. No such effect was found for childhood attention, hyperactivity/impulsivity or internalizing problems. With respect to psychopathological symptoms during adolescence, only attention problems were significantly related to later problematic cannabis use when controlling for comorbidity. Conclusions: The current study highlights the role of conduct/oppositional behavior problems during childhood and attention problems during adolescence in later problematic cannabis use. It sheds more light on the developmental sequence of childhood and adolescence psychopathology and young adult cannabis use, which is a prerequisite for effective prevention approaches. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.