SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2014, 42(1), 97-98

© Society for Personality Research

http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2014.42.1.97

EATING ATTITUDES AND ANXIETY IN JAPANESE FEMALE

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

MIO YOSHIE, MIHO ASAI, AND DAIKI KATO

Kinjo Gakuin University

Eating disorders are common in adolescents and young adults, and the tendency
towards eating disorders in those age groups is increasing. Such disorders were
originally divided into anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa according to
clinical criteria; however, there are some pathologies that do not directly satisfy
the criteria of eating disorders, including obsessive dieting. Oshima, Sakuta,
Tazoe, and Suematsu (2006) showed that body dissatisfaction and femininity are
important variables influencing eating attitudes in female university students.
They found that eating attitudes are related to self-image, mood, and personality.
In this study we focused on anxiety and examined its relationship with eating
attitudes in Japanese female university students.

Method

Participants were 198 Japanese female undergraduate students (Mage = 19.98

years, SD = 1.38). They answered the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26, Japanese
version; Mukai, Crago, & Shisslak, 1994; originally developed by Garner &
Garfinkel, 1979) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Japanese version;
Hidano, Fukuhara, Iwawaki, Soga, & Spielberger, 2000; originally developed by
Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970). The EAT-26 is a 26-item inventory used
to diagnose eating disorders and measure eating attitudes on a 6-point scale (1
= nothing to 6 = always). The STAI is a 40-item standardized inventory used to
measure both state (20 items) and trait (20 items) anxiety. Reponses are rated on
a 4-point scale (1 = disagree to 4 = agree).

Mio Yoshie and Miho Asai, Graduate School of Human Ecology, Kinjo Gakuin University; Daiki
Kato, College of Human Sciences, Kinjo Gakuin University.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Daiki Kato, College of Human
Sciences, Kinjo Gakuin University, 2-1723 Omori, Moriyama-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 463-8521, Japan.
Email: daiki-k@kinjo-u.ac.jp

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Results and Discussion

Participants were divided into three subgroups according to their EAT-26

score. The high group (EAT-H; n = 14) had a mean score of 3 points and over,
the medium group (EAT-M; n = 78) scored between 2 and 3 points, and the low
group (EAT-L; n = 106) scored fewer than 2 points. Higher scoring participants
had an eating disorder tendency and inappropriate eating attitudes. Their STAI
scores were compared among these three subgroups using a one-way analysis of
variance. The results showed a significant difference in trait anxiety scores, F(2,
195) = 3.45, p < .05, and multiple comparisons revealed that the trait anxiety
score in the EAT-H group was significantly higher than in the EAT-L group (p
< .05). There was no significant difference in state anxiety scores, F(2, 195) =
0.36, ns.
Trait anxiety is the tendency to feel anxiety and is part of an individual’s
personality. In contrast, state anxiety is a temporary mood. Hence, not all
participants categorized in the EAT-H group satisfied the criteria for a diagnosis
of an eating disorder. However, they did have some level of inappropriate
eating attitudes. We suggest that students with an eating disorder tendency may
suffer from constant anxiety. This is a useful clinical viewpoint and it should be
examined in more detail in future studies.

Keywords: eating disorders, eating attitudes, anxiety, Japanese female university students.

Table 1. Relationships Between Eating Attitudes and Anxiety

EAT-H EAT-M EAT-L
M SD M SD M SD
State anxiety 42.79 12.96 40.67 12.62 40.00 11.32
Trait anxiety 51.43 14.09 45.73 12.23 43.21 11.05 EAT H > EAT L*
*
Note. p < .05

References

Garner, D. M., & Garfinkel, P. E. (1979). The Eating Attitudes Test: An index of the symptoms of
anorexia nervosa. Psychological Medicine, 9, 273-279. http://doi.org/c3jvn3
Hidano, T., Fukuhara, M., Iwawaki, S., Soga, S., & Spielberger, C. D. (2000). State-Trait Anxiety
Inventory–Form JYZ. Tokyo, Japan: Jitsumu Kyoiku Shuppan.
Mukai, T., Crago, M., & Shisslak, C. M. (1994). Eating attitudes and weight preoccupation among
female high school students in Japan. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 677-688.
http://doi.org/d557rm
Oshima, F., Sakuta, R., Tazoe, M., & Suematsu, H. (2006). A study of multi-perceptions related to
eating disorders in adolescents [In Japanese]. Japanese Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine, 46,
387-394.
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., & Lushene, R. E. (1970). STAI Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety
Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
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