Paper
International Journal of Obesity (2005) 29, 1137–1143. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803006; published online 31 May 2005
Effects of perceived peer isolation and social support availability on the relationship between body mass index and depressive symptoms
This study was supported by the National Cancer Institute/National Institute of Drug Abuse Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center Grant (1 P50 CA84735-01) awarded to the University of Southern California.
B Xie1, C-P Chou2, D Spruijt-Metz2, C Liu3, J Xia3, J Gong3, Y Li3 and C A Johnson2
- 1Hamovitch Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- 2Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Alhambra, CA, USA
- 3Wuhan Public Health & Anti-Epidemic Institute, Wuhan, PR China
Correspondence: Dr B Xie, Hamovitch Research Center, School of Social Work, University of Southern California, 669 West 34th Street, MRF102U, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0411, USA. E-mail: bxie@usc.edu
Received 1 June 2004; Revised 21 April 2005; Accepted 25 April 2005; Published online 31 May 2005.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To examine relationships between body mass index (BMI) and psychological correlates in Chinese school adolescents during the period of economic transition.
DESIGN:
Baseline data of 1655 Chinese adolescents aged 11–15 y were retrieved from a longitudinal smoking cessation and health promotion program in Wuhan, China. Assessments of body weight and height, depressive symptoms, perceived peer isolation (PPI) and perceived availability of social support (PASS) were collected.
RESULTS:
Based on the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) age-and sex-specific BMI cutoffs, 12.5% of boys and 9.2% of girls were overweight. In girls, high BMI was significantly related to higher self-reported depressive symptoms, and was dominantly mediated by PPI. On the contrary, high BMI boys reported significantly lower levels of PPI although high PPI level aggravated depressive symptoms. For both girls and boys, the observed effect of PPI on the relationship between BMI and depressive symptoms was sustained only in low PASS boys and girls.
CONCLUSIONS:
The present study revealed different effects of PPI on the association of BMI and depressive symptoms between boys and girls, which were buffered by levels of PASS. The findings of this study may contribute to our understanding of the influences of psychological correlates in pediatric overweight in the Eastern cultural environment.
Keywords:
adolescents, body mass index, psychological correlates
