Age of onset and eating disordered behaviors in adolescents with type 1 diabetes

This study of 72 adolescents with type I diabetes and their families investigated if later age of disease onset was associated with disordered eating patterns and if family environment and social competence would moderate this relationship. Family environment was assessed by the Family Environment Scale (FES) cohesion and conflict scales, social competence by the Youth Self Report (YSR) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) social competence scales and eating patterns by the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Bivariate correlations revealed age of onset alone was not correlated with disordered eating patterns. However, regression analyses revealed interaction effects of onset, family environment, and social competence on disordered eating patterns. Taken together, these findings suggest that when age of onset is examined in the context of family environment and adolescent social competence, adolescents with earlier disease onset who live in families with higher conflict and lower cohesion experience a greater drive for thinness. While adolescents who are diagnosed with diabetes later in life may have more maladaptive eating patterns when adequate social competence is not developed.