Objective: To identify, in a sample of youth seeking treatment for obesity, subgroups of youth characterized by distinct profiles of psychosocial functioning and to examine whether psychosocial subgroup membership predicted treatment outcomes.
Methods: Baseline psychosocial profiles identified using cluster analysis techniques were used to predict treatment outcomes (i.e., health-related quality of life, BMI z scores). Participants were 92 youths seeking treatment for obesity (mean age = 11.6 years, mean body mass index for age and sex = 30.5) and their caregivers.
Results: Three distinct psychosocial profile subgroups were identified. Subgroups with higher levels of psychosocial problems had poorer health-related quality of life outcomes posttreatment and at 12-month follow-up. Subgroup membership did not predict weight outcomes.
Conclusion: Youth seeking weight management treatment may present with patterns of psychosocial difficulties with implications for treatment outcomes. Weight treatment interventions should be tailored to meet the needs of youth with higher levels of psychosocial problems.