Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in Chinese Adolescents with Overweight and Obesity.

BACKGROUND

The relationship between psychological factors and obesity has become a hot topic in psychosomatic research. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of cognitive emotion regulation (CER) strategies in Chinese adolescents with different weight status.

METHODS

Using stratified random cluster sampling, 700 and 321 adolescents were defined as adolescents with overweight status and obese status, respectively. One thousand and twenty-one adolescents with normal-weight status were also selected. All participants completed a general questionnaire and Chinese version of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.

RESULTS

Adolescents in the obesity group obtained the highest scores on self-blame and rumination in three groups, and those from the obesity group obtained lower scores on acceptance, positive refocusing, and positive reappraisal than those from normal group (ps < 0.05). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies had a significant impact on BMI, accounting for 32.0% variance (p < 0.001). Higher scores on self-blame and rumination were associated with higher BMI, but greater acceptance and positive refocusing were associated with lower BMI (ps < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Self-blame, rumination, acceptance, and positive refocusing have considerable effects on BMI in Chinese adolescents. The causal relationship of CER strategies and BMI should be explained more accurately and thoroughly to prevent and intervene in cases of adolescent obesity.