Relationship between resilience and risk eating behaviors/Relación entre resiliencia y conductas alimentarias de riesgo

Abstract

Eating disorders are one of the most frequent chronic diseases in adolescents and young women. In Mexico, percentages from 5 to 18% of risk eating behaviors have been found in samples of female university students (Unikel-Santoncini, et al., 2004). On the other hand, resilience is defined as a construct that includes certain phenomena that consist of the individual's adequate adaptation to traumatic situations, extreme deprivation, serious threats, or high stress (González-Arratia, 2008, in Camacho Valadez, 2016). This research examines the relationship between resilience and risk eating behaviors through the application of the EAT-26 and RESI-M instruments to 201 Mexican women, with an average age of 22 years. A Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis was performed, which showed that those women with higher levels of resilience showed less risk eating behaviors. It’s proposed to carry out the same study with younger populations, as well as with male participants.