Food and Alcohol Disturbance in High School Adolescents: Prevalence, Characteristics and Association with Problem Drinking and Eating Disorders

Federica Pinna, Federico Suprani (), Pasquale Paribello, Paola Milia, Lucia Sanna, Mirko Manchia, Graziella Boi, Annadele Pes, Lorena Lai, Valeria Deiana, Silvia Lostia di Santa Sofia, Laura Puddu, Francesca Fatteri, Alice Ghiani, Alice Lai and Bernardo Carpiniello
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Federica Pinna: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Federico Suprani: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Pasquale Paribello: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Paola Milia: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Lucia Sanna: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Mirko Manchia: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Graziella Boi: Department of Mental Health and Addictions, ASL Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Annadele Pes: Department of Mental Health and Addictions, ASL Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Lorena Lai: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Valeria Deiana: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Silvia Lostia di Santa Sofia: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Laura Puddu: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Francesca Fatteri: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Alice Ghiani: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Alice Lai: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy
Bernardo Carpiniello: Section of Psychiatry, Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, 09127 Cagliari, Italy

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Food and alcohol disturbance (FAD) is characterized by the association of alcohol use with compensatory behaviors such as restricting calories, physical activity and purging. Despite not being part of the current nosography, research has grown in the past 10 years, mostly on college students’ samples. In this study, we aim to describe the prevalence, characteristics and association of FAD with problem drinking (PD) and eating disorder risk (EDR) in a sample of Italian high school students. Participants were 900 high school students (53.6% males; mean age = 16.22) that were administered standardized questionnaires. Students who screened positive for PD, EDR and both were, respectively, 17.3%, 5.9% and 1.3%. Approximately one out four students reported FAD behaviors, mostly to control weight and by restricting calories, with higher prevalence and severity among those who screened positive for PD. Purging behaviors were rare overall (15.5%), but significantly more frequent in participants who screened positive for both PD and EDR (41.7%). FAD was more strongly associated with alcohol use severity than with ED symptom severity across all subgroups. FAD behaviors appear to be common in the Italian high school population and more strongly associated with PD. Future studies should investigate FAD’s impact on adolescents’ functioning and possible early interventions.

Keywords: drunkorexia; food and alcohol disturbance; adolescents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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