Differences in daily stress, mood, coping, and eating behavior in binge eating and nonbinge eating college women

doi:10.1016/S0306-4603(99)00049-0

Addictive Behaviors

Volume 25, Issue 2, March–April 2000, Pages 205-216

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0306-4603(99)00049-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study investigated differences between binge eaters and controls on measures of daily stress, mood, coping, and eating behavior. The same measures were also used to compare binge days to nonbinge days for the binge group. Participants included 20 college women who reported binge eating at least two times per week and 20 women who reported no disturbance in their eating behavior. They were asked to self-monitor their daily stress, coping, mood, and eating behavior for three weeks. Results indicated that the binge group reported more stress and negative mood over the three weeks than the control group. The binge group reported experiencing a similar number of stressful events on binge days as compared to nonbinge days, however, the impact of those events was much greater on binge days. The binge eaters also reported less positive mood and more episodes of eating on binge days. The groups did not differ in the number of coping strategies used. Stress and negative mood appear to be common antecedents for binge eating. The role of coping responses and daily eating behavior (i.e., restraint) on binge eating is somewhat less clear.

Section snippets

Antecedents of binge eating

There are many theories proposed to explain binge eating, including predisposing factors such as family functioning and peer relationships, sexual abuse, body image disturbance, and more immediate antecedents. Antecedents are events that set the occasion or increase the motivation for a behavior (Miltenberger, in press) and may involve cognitive (e.g., over-concern with shape and weight), behavioral (e.g., dieting or food restriction), and emotional (e.g., negative affect) events. Negative

Participants

Participants included female undergraduates (binge eating group n = 20, control group n = 20) selected from eight introductory psychology courses. The Questionnaire of Eating and Weight Patterns (QEWP) developed by Spitzer et al. (1992), was used as an initial screening instrument and was given to 411 women. Women who met criteria were recruited via telephone and asked if they would like to participate in a study investigating binge eating (approximately 30 women met criteria). Those who chose

Results

The binge group had a mean age of 19.5 years, height of 65.7 inches, and weight of 147.2 lbs. The control group had a mean age of 21.3, height of 66.6 inches, and a weight of 131.8 lbs. Independent samples t tests were conducted on the age and weight variables. There were no significant differences in age, t (37) = −1.94, p < .063, or weight, t (37) = 1.65, p < .107. Three participants (2 from binge group and 1 from control group) were excluded from the analyses because they lost the monitoring

Discussion

As hypothesized, this study found significant differences in daily stress, mood, coping, and eating behavior between the binge eating group (BEG) and the control group (CG). Of the 15 between-group comparisons for the daily monitoring, 13 were significant.

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Differences in daily stress, mood, coping, and eating behavior in binge eating and nonbinge eating college women

Abstract

Section snippets

Antecedents of binge eating

Participants

Results

Discussion

Clinical Psychology Review

Addictive Behaviors

Journal of Psychosomatic Research

Appetite

How patients describe bulimia or binge eating

Psychological Medicine

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders

Daily Stress InventoryProfessional Manual

Subclinical versus formal eating disordersDifferentiating psychological features

International Journal of Eating Disorders

Multidimensional assessment of copingA critical evaluation

Journal of Social and Personality Psychology

Stress-induced eating

Psychological Bulletin

Binge eating in normal-weight nonpurging femalesIs there consistency?

International Journal of Eating Disorders

Appraisal and coping strategies in stress situationsA comparison of individual who binge eat to controls

International Journal of Eating Disorders

The classification of bulimic eating disordersA community-based cluster analysis study

Psychological Medicine

Binge eating as escape from self-awareness

Psychological Bulletin

Effects of coping style and negative body image on eating disturbance

International Journal of Eating Disorders