Most research on weight-related social difficulties in adolescence emphasizes categorical measures of weight status (e.g., overweight/obese vs. non-overweight/non-obese). However, teens who are not overweight can also experience weight-related social adjustment problems, and girls may be at higher risk for maladjustment due to weight-related stigmatization than their male counterparts. The current study modeled trajectories of BMI z-score (zBMI), a continuous measure of BMI relative to U.S. reference standards for child age and sex, for boys and girls from ages 9 to 15. The sample of 938 adolescents, drawn from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, contained proportions of normal weight and overweight/obese teens that approximate the U.S. population. Latent growth curve modeling was used to establish quadratic models describing zBMI change in boys and girls separately using measurements collected at ages 9, 10.5, 11.5, 12.5, 13.5, and 15.5. zBMI growth parameters were used to predict a latent social adjustment variable indicated by mother and adolescent reports of adaptive social functioning at age 15. Controlling for pubertal timing, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, the proportion of measurements at which children were classified as overweight, and age 9 social adjustment, girls’ more rapid BMI gains across the pubertal transition, and greater acceleration of these growth rates relative to national norms were associated with lower age 15 social adjustment. Findings suggest that a better understanding of weight-related social adjustment may require broadening the scope of research and intervention efforts to normal-weight teens, particularly normal-weight girls.

中文翻译：

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体重指数轨迹与青少年社会适应之间关系的性别差异

大多数关于青春期体重相关社会困难的研究都强调体重状况的分类测量（例如，超重/肥胖与非超重/非肥胖）。然而，不超重的青少年也可能会遇到与体重相关的社会适应问题，并且由于与体重相关的污名化，女孩可能比男性面临更高的适应不良风险。目前的研究模拟了 BMI z的轨迹-分数 (zBMI)，相对于美国儿童年龄和性别参考标准的 BMI 连续测量，适用于 9 至 15 岁的男孩和女孩。938 名青少年的样本来自早期儿童保育和青年发展研究，包含接近美国人口的正常体重和超重/肥胖青少年的比例。潜在生长曲线模型用于建立二次模型，分别使用在 9、10.5、11.5、12.5、13.5 和 15.5 岁时收集的测量值来描述男孩和女孩的z BMI 变化。zBMI 增长参数用于预测潜在的社会适应变量，该变量由母亲和青少年在 15 岁时的适应性社会功能报告中显示。控制青春期时间、社会经济地位、种族/民族、儿童被归类为超重的测量比例，和 9 岁的社会适应、女孩在整个青春期过渡期间的 BMI 增长更快，以及这些增长率相对于国家标准的更大加速与 15 岁的社会适应较低有关。研究结果表明，为了更好地理解与体重相关的社会适应，可能需要将研究和干预范围扩大到正常体重的青少年，尤其是体重正常的女孩。