Differential associations between life events and body image and disordered eating among pregnant Chinese women

Backgrounds: Pregnant women are vulnerable to eating and body image disturbances. Ample empirical research shows that life events (LEs) are associated with body image and disordered eating in youth and adults, and LEs are also related to pregnant women's mental health. However, there is a lack of research exploring the links between LEs and pregnant women's body image and disordered eating. Furthermore, prior studies, which are mainly conducted in Western contexts, examining links between LEs and body image and disordered eating focus on stressful/negative LEs. As such, there is limited research examining the links between positive LEs and body image and disordered eating, especially in pregnant women. Methods: Using a sample of pregnant women from China (N = 345), we explored cross-sectional associations between three types of LEs (i.e., positive objective, negative subjective, and negative objective) and body image (negative and positive body image) and disordered eating in pregnant women. Pearson correlation analyses and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Results: Results showed that positive LEs were generally associated with higher positive body image and lower negative body image and disordered eating, while negative LEs were generally associated with lower positive body image and higher negative body image and disordered eating. Different types of LEs demonstrated unique associations with body image and disordered eating outcomes. Conclusions: These findings highlight the significance of considering both positive and negative LEs when addressing body image and disordered eating during pregnancy and suggest that LEs may represent an important correlate for future research on maternal well-being.