Body Image Dissatisfaction and Anxiety Trajectories During Adolescence

The primary goal of this study was to examine the associations between baseline body image dissatisfaction (BID) and subsequent anxiety trajectories in a diverse, community sample of adolescent girls and boys. Participants were 581 adolescents (baseline age: M = 16.1, SD = 0.7; 58% female; 65% non-Hispanic White) from U.S. public high schools. Self-report questionnaires were administered during school at 3 annual assessment waves. Latent growth curve modeling examined the association between baseline BID and growth factors of anxiety disorder symptom trajectories. Covariates included baseline gender, age, race/ethnicity, parental education attainment, body mass index standard scores, and depressive symptoms. Higher BID at baseline was significantly associated with higher initial symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder (PD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), and significant school avoidance (SSA; ps = .001-.04) but was unrelated to initial separation anxiety disorder (SEP) symptoms (p = .27). Higher baseline BID also was associated with attenuated decreases in SAD symptoms across time (p = .001). Among adolescents with low baseline anxiety symptoms only, higher BID was associated with more attenuated decreases in SAD symptoms (p = .01) and greater increases in PD symptoms (p = .02). BID was unrelated to changes in GAD, SEP, and SSA symptoms (ps = .11-.94). Findings suggest that BID is associated with concurrent symptoms of multiple anxiety disorders and may have a prospective link to SAD and PD symptoms during adolescence. As such, assessing body image issues may be important to assess when identifying adolescents at risk for exacerbated SAD and PD symptoms.