Abstract
Body dissatisfaction is common in adolescence and associated with negative outcomes (e.g., eating disorders). We identified common individual trajectories of body dissatisfaction from mid-adolescence to adulthood, and predictors of divergent patterns. Participants were 1,455 individuals from four waves of Project EAT (Eating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults), a population-based, 15-year longitudinal study. Aggregate body dissatisfaction increased over 15 years, which was largely attributable to increases in weight. Growth mixture modeling identified four common patterns of body dissatisfaction, revealing nearly 95% of individuals experienced relatively stable body dissatisfaction from adolescence through adulthood. Baseline depression, self-esteem, parent communication/caring, peer dieting, and weight-based teasing predicted differing trajectories. Body dissatisfaction appears largely stable from mid-adolescence onward. There may be a critical period for body image development during childhood/early adolescence. Clinicians should intervene upon body dissatisfaction before it becomes chronic, and target depression, self-esteem, parent/child connectedness, and responses to teasing and peer dieting.