MODERATED LONGITUDINAL ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PEER REJECTION AND WEIGHT CONCERNS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Weight concerns challenge the well-being of many children and adolescents. As many as 70% of children report body dissatisfaction (Tatangelo et al., 2016). By adolescence, weight concerns are normative (Davison et al., 2003; Field et al., 1999). Negative weight-related cognitions are troublesome because they lead to emotional and behavioral maladaptive functioning and most importantly, unhealthy weight-control behaviors (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2006; ter Bogt et al., 2006). Rejected children are especially at risk for body dissatisfaction, however the order of effects is not clear (Mikami & Hinshaw, 2006; Rancourt & Prinstein, 2010). Regression analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis that peer rejection predicts weight concerns in primary school age children, and that this association is moderated by emotional and conduct problems. Results indicated that peer rejection predicted weight concerns in 5th grade children, and low emotional problems strengthened this association; conduct problems predicted weight concerns in 3rd grade children.