Abstract
Purpose: Appearance-related stress may result from appearance-focused events such as seeing one’s reflection, seeing media images, and shopping for clothes. The purpose of this study was to examine the prospective association between momentary appearance-related stress and eating disorder (ED) behaviors (i.e., binge eating and vomiting) among women with anorexia nervosa (AN) using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). We hypothesized that appearance-related stress at Time 1 would predict binge eating and vomiting at Time 2, and that this prospective association would be mediated by momentary anxiety at Time 2 (controlling for anxiety at Time 1). Methods: Women with AN completed a 2-week EMA protocol involving repeated daily assessments of experiences and behaviors. Results: Momentary appearance-related stress preceded binge eating and vomiting, and momentary anxiety mediated the prospective association between appearance-related stress and ED behaviors. Conclusions: Targeted momentary interventions delivered in the natural environment that address appearance-related stress may have utility in the treatment of ED behaviors.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 637-644 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Eating and Weight Disorders |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2017, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
Keywords
- Anorexia nervosa
- Anxiety
- Appearance
- Binge eating
- Ecological momentary assessment
- Purging