82 International Journal of Child Health and Nutrition, 2018, 7, 82-96 E-ISSN: 1929-4247/18 © 2018 Lifescience Global Eating Disorders and Depression in Adolescents: The Impact of Socioeconomic Factors, Family and Peer Relations Goran Livazović * and Iva Mudrinić Department for Pedagogy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of J. J. Strossmayer in Osijek, Croatia Abstract: This paper analyses the relation between socioeconomic characteristics, family and peer relations, depression and eating disorders with 218 (144 female, 66.1%) participants aged 14-19 from Croatia. The questionnaire encompassed questions on socioeconomic traits, family and peer relations, depression and anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and orthorexia. Girls reported most dissatisfaction with the abdominal region (38.5%), thighs (31.2%) and breasts (16.1%). Boys reported most dissatisfaction with the abdomen (12.4%), chest (10.1%) and legs/calves (7.3%). Gender was significant for depression (p<.001), anorexia (p<.01), bulimia (p<.001) and binge eating (p<.05), with girls scoring higher on all scales. Age was significant for depression (p<.05) in younger participants, and orthorexia (p<.05) for older adolescents. Participants from vocational schools reported significantly higher family life satisfaction (p<.01), while gymnasium students reported significantly higher depression (p<.000), bulimia (p<.01) and binge eating behaviour (p<.01). Higher mother’s educational level was significant for anorexia (p<.05) and orthorexia (p<.01). Family relations correlated negatively with bulimia and binge eating, but positively with orthorexia. Peer relations were not significant for eating disorders. Eating disorders show positively correlated comorbidity (p<.000), and were significantly correlated to depression (p<.000). Anorexia is best predicted by bulimia (p<.001), orthorexia (p<.001), depression (p<.01) and mother’s education (p<.01). Bulimia is strongly predicted by anorexia (p<.001), binge eating (p<.001), depression (p<.001) and gender (p<.001). Binge eating is strongly predicted by bulimia (p<.001), depression (p<.01) and school type (p<.05). Orthorexia is strongly predicted by anorexia (p<.001), family relations quality (p<.05), the mother’s education (p<.05) and school success (p<.05). Keywords: Eating disorders, adolescents, family, school, peers, depression, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, orthorexia. 1. INTRODUCTION Although body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders could theoretically develop in any individual, they tend to be most prevalent among adolescents. Changes in body composition lead to differences in appearance and self-image, which can influence behaviour and increase introspection or self- consciousness about mostly body-related concerns [1]. Eating disorders are psychiatric illnesses that result in irregular eating patterns with negative health effects in individuals, who develop unrealistic personal attitudes toward or abnormal body perceptions, causing behaviours that lead to destructive eating patterns with negative physical and emotional consequences [2]. They are complex, multi-faceted and acutely sensitive to societal and cultural pressures. As these disorders generally develop in childhood and adolescence, particular attention is devoted to developmental research that considers biological predispositions, societal coercion, developmental norms, mutability of behaviours, and the individual’s unique response to his or her environment [3]. *Address correspondence to this author at the Department for Pedagogy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of J. J. Strossmayer in Osijek, Croatia; Tel: +385918940828; E-mail: glivazovic@ffos.hr, goran_livazovic@yahoo.com 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND The modern ecological perspective emphasises that a multitude of triggers – biological, psychosocial and cultural – may concord in a person and sway eating patterns into the realm of maladaptation at certain periods in life. Psychoanalytic perspectives on anorexia and obesity consider hunger an innate drive, and food an unconscious symbol of desires (e.g. love, hatred, sexual gratification, pregnancy). The fear of food intake seen in anorexia was linked with unconscious fears of oral impregnation, or fears of adulthood and sexuality [5, 4]. Hilde Bruch’s [5] prolific psychodynamic theory emphasised that early developmental problems between mothers and children could result in a disruption of an individual’s emotional and physiological experience of food and satiation, as well as affect the child’s development of autonomy or inner-directedness with consequential misperceptions of body size and satiety [5]. The psychodynamic perspective speculated that anorexic and obese patients alike, experience their bodies as not being truly their own, but under the influence of others, while the behaviours associated with anorexia were means of undoing feelings of passivity, ineffectiveness and control by outside forces [3]. The next big factor were the media promoted body ideals, the lean tubular body physique in the cult of thinness that rendered eating disorders as adaptive