Tripartite influence and social comparison theories for explaining eating disorder psychopathology in Chinese boys and girls: A longitudinal network perspective

The present study used longitudinal network analysis to investigate the applicability of the tripartite influence model (TIM) and social comparison theories in explaining eating disorder (ED) psychopathology among Chinese adolescents. A total of 1428 Chinese adolescents (607 boys, 821 girls) participated in a four-wave longitudinal study over 18 months. Separate within-person contemporaneous and temporal networks were estimated for boys and girls, both demonstrating adequate network stability. In both boys’ and girls’ contemporaneous networks, peer pressures was the most influential node, while thin-ideal internalization and downward physical appearance comparison exhibited the highest bridge expected influence. In boys’ temporal network, TIM factors predicted most ED symptoms over time, whereas appearance comparisons had limited directional associations with ED symptoms. Also, in the boys’ temporal network, contingency of self-worth on shape/weight showed the highest in-expected influence, and peer pressures had the highest out-expected influence and the highest bridge centrality. In contrast, girls’ temporal network revealed bidirectional associations among TIM and social comparison factors, both of which had directional links with ED symptoms. Furthermore, in girls’ temporal network, peer pressures exhibited the highest in-expected influence, upward physical appearance comparison exhibited the highest out-expected influence, and both thin-ideal internalization and upward physical appearance comparison had the highest bridge centrality. These findings suggest sex-specific patterns linking sociocultural influences to ED psychopathology, highlighting the potential importance of targeting key sex-specific sociocultural factors when designing interventions.