Relationships between psychosocial health indicators and weight status trajectories among American adolescents: The moderating role of gender, ethnicity, and acculturation

Background: The household routines have been frequently examined as correlates of adolescent weight status changes; however, the role of adolescents' psychosocial wellbeing plays is rarely examined. Objectives: This study aims to predict trajectories in weight status during early adolescence with factors reflecting child psychosocial wellbeing, and to examine gender, ethnicity, and acculturation as possible moderators. Methods: The current study utilized data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally representative sample of children who entered kindergarten during 1998-1999 and were followed through eighth grade. At fifth grade, parents reported on child and household routines and the study child's primary classroom teacher reported on the child's psychosocial functioning. At fifth and eighth grade, children were directly weighed and measured at school. Results: Compared to boys, adolescent girls' weight status continuity and changes is more likely to be affected by their psychosocial adjustment above and beyond household routines and demographic covariates. Ethnic minority and recent immigrant groups appear more likely to be affected by psychosocial wellbeing indicators in relation to their weight status. Conclusions: The cultural patterns of behavior might manifest into interpersonal skills, externalizing and internalizing behavior. Practitioners and researchers should be culturally sensitive to the meaning and response bias in survey questions or observation techniques used to assess psychosocial wellbeing of adolescents from ethnic minority and recent immigrant groups.