So I tried to do some research on if obesity correlates with incidence of molestation. I wasn’t able to find much but I did find two peer reviewed journal articles that were interesting. I was thinking about doing research of my own on it for my Advanced Research and Writing in Psychology class (it would be surveys) but my professor said that as an undergrad, it might be too harmful to ask the questions I would need to. That sucks but I kind of figured she would say that. I will have to save that research for grad school.
The first article I found is “Association of Perceived Neighborhood Safety on Body Mass Index” by Jason S. Fish, et al. It was published in the American Journal of Public Health. The researcher took information from a survey already being administered in Los Angeles and also 2000 Census data. They took BMI information of the participants and also looked at what they answered when asked about the safety of their neighborhoods. Crime data and income data was also analyzed. The results of the study were that individuals that perceived their neighborhoods as unsafe had a higher BMI than those who did not. I can relate this to my hypothesis (or my situation) – imagine someone who is molested by a neighbor, friend of the family, household member, or a family member. How safe do you think they feel?
This data is just co-relational (correlation does not mean causation!) and is also self-report data so it is by no meat definitive but it is a start and something to investigate further.
Link to the article:
The second article I found is “Body Weight and Obesity in Adults and Self-Reported Abuse in Childhood” by D.F. Williamson, et al. It was published in International Journal of Obesity, @ www.nature.com/ijo
The researchers took participants weight during a clinical examination and then later mailed a survey to them asking about their experiences during the first 18 years of their life. The researchers found that abuse in childhood (most strongly physical and verbal)is associated with obesity in adults. This article deals with sexual abuse as physical abuse. I found this study very interesting. Again the data is self-report data and is co-relational so more work needs to be done with the findings; more research needs to be done but it proves to me that I may have something in thinking my obesity may in some part be due to the fact I was molested in childhood.
Link:
http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v26/n8/full/0802038a.html
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