A MEDIATIONAL MODEL OF AUTONOMY, SELF-ESTEEM, AND EATING DISORDERED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

This study expands upon existing literature by examining how the relationship between autonomy deficits and low self-esteem may create a psychological environment conducive to the development of eating disordered behaviors. Findings supported a mediational model to account for eating disordered behaviors in 71 college women. In this model, lack of autonomy was related to decreased global self-esteem, which in turn was associated with bulimia, body dissatisfaction, and drive for thinness. Although only tentative and cross-sectional in nature, this study is of particular importance because it links autonomy and self-esteem in a coherent model predictive of eating disordered behaviors in college women. Developmental aspects of eating disorders and treatment implications are discussed.     

Children Exposed to Marital Conflict Exhibit More Disordered Eating Behaviors: Child Emotional Insecurity and Anxiety as Mechanisms of Risk

Disordered eating in children is a major public health concern, as it is precursor to clinical eating disorders and obesity. However, little is known about the potential causes of child disordered eating. The current study examined marital conflict as a predictor of disordered eating in a sample of children aged 5–12 years, from the perspective of emotional security theory. Ninety five children and their parents in the Southeast United States participated in the study. We found that marital conflict was associated with higher levels of restrained eating, emotional eating and external eating behaviors controlling for demographics and parental feeding practices. Further, we examined the possible pathways between marital conflict and child disordered eating and found that marital conflict was related to greater child emotional insecurity about the family, which was associated with greater child anxiety, which were then related to disordered eating. In addition to serving as a secondary pathway linking emotional insecurity to child disordered eating, anxiety also significantly directly mediated the association between marital conflict and all three types of disordered eating: restrained eating, emotional eating and external eating in children. Next we examined if parental feeding practices (food monitoring, food restriction and parental pressure to eat) moderate the relation between marital conflict and child disordered eating. Parental pressure to eat was negatively associated with child disordered eating under higher marital conflict. The current study highlights the importance of marital conflict and child emotional security as precursors of child disordered eating.     

Does gratitude always work? Ambivalence over emotional expression inhibits the beneficial effect of gratitude on well‐being

The psychological benefit of gratitude has been well demonstrated in previous studies. However, when we examined these studies closely, we found that the moderators were rarely investigated, suggesting that further work is needed to explore the boundaries of gratitude In this regard, the authors have proposed that ambivalence over emotional expression might be a potential moderator that would inhibit the beneficial effect of gratitude on well-being. Two studies were conducted to examine our hypothesis. Study 1 consisted of 353 Taiwanese college students who completed the Gratitude Questionnaire-Taiwan version (GQ-T), Ambivalence over Emotional Expression Questionnaire (AEQ), and one question about subjective happiness. We found that ambivalence over emotional expression significantly moderated the effect of gratitude on happiness. To validate our findings in Study 1, 233 Taiwanese college students were recruited for Study 2, and they completed the GQ-T, AEQ, subjective happiness short-form UCLA loneliness scale, as well as the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Both studies demonstrated that ambivalence over emotional expression moderated the relationship between gratitude and well-being indexes. Simply stated, the authors found that across the two independent samples, among students who are high in ambivalence over emotional expression, the beneficial effect of gratitude on subjective happiness was inhibited. However, the moderating pattern for loneliness and depression was contrary to our expectations, indicating that high ambivalence over emotional expression does not inhibit gratitude. Possible explanations and implications for social relationships and emotional expression are discussed.     

Perceived acceptability of anorexia and bulimia in women with and without eating disorder symptoms

Perceptions of the acceptability of eating‐disordered behaviour were examined in young adult women with (n = 44) and without (n = 268) eating disorder symptoms. All participants viewed vignettes of anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) and responded to the same series of questions—addressing different possible ways in which the conditions described might be seen to be acceptable—in relation to each vignette. Participants with eating disorder symptoms perceived eating‐disordered behaviour to be more acceptable than asymptomatic participants, and this was the case for both AN and BN vignettes and for a range of different items. Differences on items tapping the perception that it ‘might not be too bad’ to have an eating disorder and that an eating disorder is ‘nothing to be concerned about’ were particularly pronounced. The findings could not be accounted for by between‐group differences in body weight. The findings indicate the ambivalence towards eating‐disordered behaviour that exists among a subgroup of young women in the community and the clear association between such ambivalence and actual eating disorder symptoms. The perceived acceptability of eating‐disordered behaviour may need to be addressed in prevention and early‐intervention programs for eating disorders.     

The Moderating Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Distress and Emotional Eating Behaviour

Current evidence and theory suggests that emotional eating resulting from attempts to manage psychological distress, such as anxiety, depression, and stress, is considered to be a major contributor to obesity. Mindfulness has been shown to be related to disordered eating behaviours. Employing a non‐clinical sample of 42 males and 115 females, the present study investigated the contribution of mindfulness as a potential moderator between psychological distress and engagement in emotional eating, while controlling for the effects of gender and general nutrition knowledge. Consistent with predictions, psychological distress was positively associated with engagement in emotional eating, while mindfulness was found to share an inverse relationship. Moreover, after controlling for gender and general nutrition knowledge, the interaction between psychological distress and mindfulness was found to significantly predict the tendency to engage in emotional eating over and above the individual effects of these variables. The findings from the current study add to the current literature supporting the use of mindfulness‐based interventions for treatment of emotional eating practices in individuals experiencing anxiety, stress, and lower levels of depression.     

One size does not fit all: Exploring how the five-factor model facets predict disordered eating behaviours among adolescent and young adult males and females

There is a wealth of research that has highlighted the relationship between personality and eating disorders. It has been suggested that understanding how subclinical disordered eating behaviours are uniquely associated with personality can help to improve the conceptualization of individuals with eating disorders. This study aimed to explore how the facets of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) predicted restrictive eating, binge eating, purging, chewing and spitting, excessive exercising and muscle building among males and females. An online survey assessing disordered eating behaviours, FFM and general psychopathology was completed by 394 females and 167 males aged between 16 and 30 years. Simultaneous equations path models were systematically generated for each disordered eating behaviour to identify how the FFM facets, body dissatisfaction and age predicted behaviour. The results indicated that each of the six disordered behaviours were predicted by a unique pattern of thinking, feeling and behaving. Considerable differences between males and females were found for each path model, suggesting differences between males and females in the personality traits that drive disordered eating behaviours. It was concluded that it is important to take personality into account when treating males and females who engage in disordered eating behaviours.     

The association between dispositional self-control and longitudinal changes in eating behaviors,diet quality,and BMI

In a random sample from the general population (N = 2781, 46% males), a longitudinal survey was conducted. The association between dispositional self-control and changes in eating behaviours and diet quality was analysed between the first wave (2010) and the last wave (2014). Results show that the higher the dispositional self-control, the lower the increase in overeating behaviours (emotional eating, external eating, ambivalence towards palatable food and overeating), and BMI and the larger the improvement in healthy diet over time. Self-control was not associated with changes in dietary restraint. This is one of the first studies suggesting that dispositional self-control is associated with changes in eating behaviours and healthy food intake over time.     

Sociotropy-dependency and autonomy as predictors of eating disturbance among Canadian female college students

The authors (a) tested the generalizability of A. Sugarman, D. Quinlan, and L. Devenis's (1982) psychodynamic account of eating disturbances, which posits that overt autonomy strivings associated with eating problems are a defense against unconscious dependency concerns, and (b) evaluated the degree to which autonomy and sociotropy had unique associations with eating disturbances. Canadian female college students (N= 286) completed self-report measures of autonomy, sociotropy, depression, and bulimia as well as the Rorschach Inkblot Test. Findings suggest, contrary to Sugarman and colleagues' psychodynamic account, that experiences of dependency related to self-reported eating pathology do not necessarily lie outside of conscious awareness. Moreover, reported bulimic symptoms were uniquely associated with sociotropy but not autonomy-self-criticism among the participants.     

The Role of Self-Objectification in the Experience of Women with Eating Disorders

Objectification theory has linked self-objectification to negative emotional experiences and disordered eating behavior in cultures that sexually objectify the female body. This link has not been empirically tested in a clinical sample of women with eating disorders. In the present effort, 209 women in residential treatment for eating disorders completed self-report measures of self-objectification, body shame, media influence, and drive for thinness on admission to treatment. Results demonstrated that the internalization of appearance ideals from the media predicted self-objectification, whereas using the media as an informational source about appearance and feeling pressured to conform to media ideals did not. Self-objectification partially mediated the relationship between internalized appearance ideals and drive for thinness; internalized appearance ideals continued to be an independent predictor of variance. In accordance with objectification theory, body shame partially mediated the relationship between self-objectification and drive for thinness in women with eating disorders; self-objectification continued to be an independent predictor of variance. These results illustrate the importance of understanding and targeting the experience of self-objectification in women with eating disorders or women at risk for eating disorders.     

Desire for thinness among high school cheerleaders: relationship to disordered eating and weight control behaviors

The eating disorders of anorexia nervosa and bulimia are increasing in frequency among adolescent females. These increases have been linked to the cultural ideal in American society of thinness. Attempting to control weight is one behavioral manifestation of the desire for thinness. One particular group of adolescents, female cheerleaders, often experience pressure to attain and maintain weight that is lower than other adolescents of the same height. This study examined cheerleaders' desire for thinness in relationship to disordered eating and weight control behaviors. A Desire for Thinness Scale and selected scales from three eating disorders instruments were administered to 751 high school cheerleaders from the Midwest. Cheerleaders who scored in the upper third on the Desire for Thinness Scale were compared with those who scored in the lower third. Cheerleaders who expressed a strong desire for thinness had significantly higher scores (p less than .0001) on 7 of 8 eating disorders scales. The greater the desire for thinness, the more likely the tendency to report disordered eating and weight control behaviors associated with bulimia. Implications from this study include an awareness of how a cultural ideal of thinness may indirectly increase disordered eating and weight control behaviors by making weight loss a salient goal. A proactive approach to modifying negative aspects of the cultural emphasis on thinness is proposed.     

Loneliness and eating disorders

This article examines the link between loneliness and eating disorders. This concept is evaluated through a systematic review of the literature that links loneliness and eating disorders and through a survey of themes connecting the 2 conditions. Eating disorders-including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders that are not otherwise specified, which include binge eating disorder-are challenging health issues. Each of these diagnoses specifically relates to loneliness. This negative emotion contributes to and fuels eating disorder symptoms. Negative interpersonal relationships, both real experiences and individuals' skewed perceptions, exacerbate eating disorders and feelings of loneliness. Characteristics that have been associated with loneliness clearly relate to eating disorders. Understanding this relationship is vital, so that we can appreciate our patients' struggles and work to target these intense emotions within the treatment setting. We need to be aware of the power of loneliness as it applies to individuals in general and specifically to those struggling with disordered eating.     

Eating Disorders—The Regulation of Positive as well as Negative Emotion Experience

Disordered eating behaviors are often conceptualized as maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. The present study investigated links between emotional experience, schematic belief systems, and psychological themes associated with eating disorders. In contrast to the majority of studies, which focus on just one or two emotions and use nonclinical samples, this study compared the full range of emotional experience in women with eating disorders to a control group. Measures used include the Differential Emotional Scale-IV, Youngs Early Maladaptive Schema Questionnaire, and Eating Disorder Inventory-2. The study provides the first empirical evidence that women diagnosed with eating disorders report experiencing pleasant as well as unpleasant emotions more frequently than do controls. A surprising finding was that pleasant emotions (joy, interest, surprise) correlated with eating disorder themes (EDI-2 subscales) more consistently than unpleasant emotions in the eating disorder group, while the reverse was true of the control group. Also of note, eating-disordered women reported significantly less anger and similar levels of fear vs. controls. While eating-disordered women scored more highly than do controls on all maladaptive schema (suggesting high levels of distress in women with eating disorders), the pattern of correlations between schema and emotion experience was distinctly different for each group and counterintuitive for the eating disorder group. In particular, pleasant emotion was highly correlated with maladaptive schema in the eating-disordered group but not in the control group. These marked group differences in the pattern of relationships between emotion experience, eating disorder themes, and belief systems suggest that it is not valid to draw conclusions about eating disorders from research that employs only nonclinical samples. The authors discuss these findings, and suggest that women with eating disorders are proficient at using disordered eating behaviors to manipulate their experience of both positive and negative emotional states, and that this dynamic should be recognized as an important maintenance factor.     

Unique associations between young adult men's emotional functioning and their body dissatisfaction and disordered eating

Research on emotional functioning, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating in males is predominated by studies of negative affect and emotion regulation. Other aspects of emotional functioning, namely emotion recognition and attentional biases toward emotional stimuli, have received little empirical attention. The present study investigated the unique associations between different aspects of men's emotional functioning and their disordered eating attitudes, muscularity dissatisfaction, and body fat dissatisfaction. Results from 132 male undergraduates showed that muscularity dissatisfaction was uniquely associated with both emotion regulation difficulties and an attentional bias toward rejecting faces. Body fat dissatisfaction was not uniquely associated with any aspect of emotional functioning. Disordered eating was uniquely associated with emotion regulation difficulties. Collectively, the results indicate differences in the patterns of associations between men's emotional functioning and their body dissatisfaction and disordered eating.     

Clinical perfectionism and eating psychopathology in athletes: The role of gender

Clinical perfectionism is considered to be a core psychopathological mechanism involved in the aetiology and maintenance of eating disorders. Recent clinical evidence suggests pathological self-criticism, which underlines clinical perfectionism, exerts a greater influence on eating disordered symptoms than high standards perfectionism. However, little attention has been paid to this line of research within the athletic population. The current study examined the association between various advocated measures of clinical perfectionism and eating psychopathology among athletes, and the moderating effect of gender in such association. A total of 192 competitive level athletes completed self-report measures assessing perfectionism and eating psychopathology. Results revealed self-critical perfectionism as the only independent predictor of athletes’ eating psychopathology. Such relationship was found to be moderated by gender, with increases in self-critical perfectionism resulting in increases in eating psychopathology for female athletes only. The present findings further reinforce self-critical perfectionism as a robust contributor of eating psychopathology.     

Disordered eating and self-objectification in college women: clarifying the roles of spirituality and purpose in life

Spirituality and purpose in life have been associated with positive mental health outcomes. This study examined the effects of spirituality, religiousness, and purpose in life on self-objectification and disordered eating. An ethnically diverse sample of college women (N?=?161), aged 18–25, who were enrolled in the undergraduate level psychology courses, participated by completing a survey assessing relational spirituality, intrinsic religiousness, and purpose in life, as well as self-objectification and disordered eating. Results supported a relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating. Intrinsic religiousness was also associated with self-objectification after controlling for religious affiliation. In addition, women who had less purpose in their lives displayed more disordered eating. These findings suggest that a sense of purpose in life may be a key dimension of spirituality that is associated with eating disturbance.     

IS SELF-OBJECTIFICATION RELATED TO INTEROCEPTIVE AWARENESS? AN EXAMINATION OF POTENTIAL MEDIATING PATHWAYS TO DISORDERED EATING ATTITUDES

Although there has been considerable empirical support for Objectification Theory ( Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997 ), findings have been mixed regarding self-objectification's relationship to interoceptive awareness, an awareness of one's internal physical and emotional states. We examined whether interoceptive awareness mediated the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating attitudes, exploring more specifically the relative contributions of difficulties recognizing feelings of hunger and satiety versus emotions. College women ( N = 195) completed measures assessing self-objectification, interoceptive awareness, awareness of emotions, and disordered eating attitudes. Self-objectification correlated significantly more strongly with interoceptive awareness when internal cues about hunger and satiety were assessed. The relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating attitudes was partially mediated by interoceptive awareness. Results revealed that interoceptive awareness may best be captured by a measure that includes lack of awareness of both hunger and satiety and emotional states. Research and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Caretaking,Separation From Parents,and the Development of Eating Disorders

The authors investigated the relationship between the cognitive and behavioral indicators of eating disorders and characteristics of codependency, including exaggerated caretaking and constricted emotion. In addition, the role of family environment was investigated through an assessment of separation from parents. College women who displayed more codependent characteristics evidenced higher levels of eating disordered behavior and conflictual separation from parents. The findings suggest that codependency may serve as an additional variable in the relationship between eating disorders and separation/individuation difficulties. Implications for counseling with college women are discussed.     

Self-objectification,body image disturbance,and eating disorder symptoms in young Australian children

Self-objectification has been examined extensively in adult populations. Despite theoretical evidence suggesting that children may also be vulnerable to experiencing self-objectification, whether children do self-objectify has not been determined. Accordingly, the present study examined the degree to which children self-objectify. The prevalence of body image and eating disturbances in this population, and the relationship between self-objectification and these disturbances, were also investigated. Results from over 250 boys and girls aged 6–11 years revealed that young girls report levels of self-objectification that are similar to those observed among older girls and women. Self-objectification was also found to be meaningfully related to body image and eating disturbances in children. A significant proportion of children reported body dissatisfaction and a minority engaged in disordered eating behaviours in the four weeks prior to the assessment. These results suggest that children may be at risk of experiencing the negative psychological outcomes associated with self-objectification.     

神经质对青少年情绪化饮食的影响：一个有调节的中介效应模型

摘 要 为探讨神经质、青少年情绪化饮食、体验回避及自尊之间的关系,选取1000名青少年为被试,采用简式大五人格问卷、荷兰饮食行为问卷、接纳行动量表及自尊量表进行测试。结果表明：（1）神经质对青少年情绪化饮食有显著的正向影响,并间接地通过体验回避对青少年情绪化饮食产生作用;（2）自尊在体验回避对青少年情绪化饮食的影响中起显著的调节作用,具体而言,在低自尊水平下,体验回避能显著地正向预测青少年情绪化饮食,而在高自尊水平下,体验回避对青少年情绪化饮食的预测作用不显著。