Skip Navigation



Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access published online on July 3, 2006
Journal of Pediatric Psychology, doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsl013
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
32/1/90    most recent
jsl013v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Stern, M.
Right arrow Articles by Laver, J. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Stern, M.
Right arrow Articles by Laver, J. H.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 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
Received August 29, 2005
Revised February 22, 2006
Accepted February 22, 2006

Article

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

Marilyn Stern PhD 1 *, Suzanne E. Mazzeo PhD 1, Clarice K. Gerke MS 2, Jerlym S. Porter MS 2, Melanie K. Bean MS 2, and Joseph H. Laver MD 3

1 Departments of Psychology and Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284
2 Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284
3 Department of Pediatrics, Virginia Commonwealth University

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Marilyn Stern, 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.

Keywords: adolescent overweight; psychosocial functioning; quality of life.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Pediatr PsycholHome page
A. C. Modi, S. M. Guilfoyle, and M. H. Zeller
Impaired Health-related Quality of Life in Caregivers of Youth Seeking Obesity Treatment
J. Pediatr. Psychol., March 1, 2009; 34(2): 147 - 155.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Black PsychologyHome page
C. Tyler, C. A. Johnston, W. T. Dalton III, and J. P. Foreyt
Relationships Between Weight and Body Dissatisfaction, Body Esteem, and Teasing in African American Girls
Journal of Black Psychology, February 1, 2009; 35(1): 125 - 132.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.