Eating behaviors and attitudes

Abstract

An exploratory study at a Midwestern university examined the relationships between disordered eating behaviors and attitudes and psychological flexibility, experiential avoidance, perceptions of social pressure, and personal control beliefs. 117 female college students were assessed through MRinterview, an online study software, using the Eating Disorder Evaluation Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Second edition (AAQ-II), the Belief in Personal Control Scale (BPCS), Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS) and the Perceived Sociocultural Pressure Scale. Correlations were found among psychological flexibility, avoidance and control beliefs and disordered eating behaviors and/or attitudes, especially with respect to eating concern. Linear regression analysis found that social pressure accounted for 32% of the variance in eating concern behavior while psychological inflexibility accounted for an additional 4%. Implications of these findings and future research are discussed.