Familial and individual variables as predictors of dieting concerns and binge eating in college females Chris A. Meno, James W. Hannum ⁎ , Dorothy E. Espelage, K.S. Douglas Low Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1310 South Sixth Street, Champaign, IL 61820-6990, USA Received 16 August 2006; received in revised form 10 April 2007; accepted 6 June 2007 Abstract Objective: The current study explored family and individual variables associated with dieting and binge eating. Method: 581 college females completed questionnaires exploring the amount of criticism and preoccupation with weight and food they experienced in their families, their current levels of depression, external attributions, and body esteem, and their degree of focus on dieting and binge eating. Results: A structural equation model incorporating previous research and theoretical considerations was evaluated. The data were consistent with a model in which family variables were mediated by individual variables of depression, external attributions, and negative body esteem to predict dieting and bingeing. Dieting was influenced by all three individual variables, and in turn, dieting and depression were associated with binge eating. Discussion: These results are consistent with an internalization model of family issues. Family dysfunction and values lead to depressive symptoms, external attributions, and negative body esteem. Dieting may be a “solution” that leads to additional eating problems such as binge eating when depression is present. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Family variables; Dieting; Binge eating; Depression; Attributions; Body self-esteem 1. Introduction Problematic family values and dysfunctional family behaviors have been implicated in the development of eating disorders, though their effects are generally non-specific. Leung, Schwartzman, and Steiger (1996) found that two pathways mediate the relationship between family dysfunction and eating disorders: one involving body esteem and another involving self-esteem. Leung et al. (1996), however, did not distinguish between dieting and binge eating/ bulimia outcomes nor consider the cognitive/affective dimensions of low self-esteem: depressive symptoms and external attributions. This study sought to extend and delineate Leung et al.'s dual pathway model by substituting depression and external attributions for low self-esteem (to distinguish between affective and cognitive reactions), and Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Eating Behaviors 9 (2008) 91 – 101 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 217 244 0574; fax: +1 217 244 7620. E-mail addresses: cmeno@indiana.edu (C.A. Meno), jwhannum@uiuc.edu (J.W. Hannum), espelage@uiuc.edu (D.E. Espelage), dlow@uiuc.edu (K.S.D. Low). 1471-0153/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.06.002