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Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on July 3, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2007 32(1):90-94; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsl013
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Gender, Ethnicity, Psychosocial Factors, and Quality of Life Among Severely Overweight, Treatment-Seeking Adolescents

Marilyn Stern, PhD1, Suzanne E. Mazzeo, PhD1, Clarice K. Gerke, MS2, Jerlym S. Porter, MS2, Melanie K. Bean, MS2 and Joseph H. Laver, MD3

1 Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2 Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, and, 3 Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University

All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Marilyn Stern, Department of Psychology and Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, 808 West Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia 23284. E-mail: mstern{at}vcu.edu.


  Abstract

Objective To examine gender and ethnic differences in psychosocial functioning among 100 (78% African American and 59% girls) treatment-seeking overweight 11- to 18-year-old adolescents. Self-esteem was examined as a potential mediator of the association between weight-related teasing and quality of life (QOL). Methods Adolescents completed measures evaluating self-esteem, dietary habits, teasing, and QOL. Results Few racial or gender differences were found. Mean QOL was similar to that reported in another study examining treatment-seeking overweight adolescents and substantially lower than what has been reported for non-treatment-seeking overweight adolescents. Self-esteem partially mediated the association between teasing and QOL. Conclusions Severely overweight adolescents of both genders and diverse ethnicities face significant stigmatization and manifest poor overall psychosocial functioning, which is negatively associated with QOL. Furthermore, self-esteem appears to partially mediate the negative relationship between teasing and QOL.

Key words: adolescent overweight; psychosocial functioning; quality of life.


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