The Development of Disordered Eating in Male Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Prospective Longitudinal Studies

Abstract

A lack of research exists about the development of disordered eating in adolescent males. A systematic review was undertaken with the primary aim of identifying psychosocial risk factors that are prospectively associated with the development of disordered eating attitudes and behavior in adolescent males. The review’s secondary aim was to appraise the appropriateness of the psychometric assessment measures used to identify those risk factors. Electronic databases Scopus (Elsevier), PsycINFO (EBSCO), PsycARTICLES, Medline (Ovid), Web of Science Core Collection and Pubmed (Thomson Reuters) were searched for prospective longitudinal research involving 11–19 year-old adolescents that was published between 2010 and 2022. Twenty-one publications met inclusion criteria and thirty-five factors including fourteen psychological factors, ten body appearance factors, four sociocultural factors, three familial and four peer factors were identified as prospectively associated with the development of disordered eating attitudes and behavior in male adolescents. The psychometric assessment measures used to identify those factors, together with the proportion of female respondents upon whose data the measures were based, were critically appraised. Accurate assessment is imperative in generating reliable and valid research and informing clinical practice. Existing female-centric psychometric assessments normed predominantly on female participants may not be appropriate for use with adolescent males.