Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Does binge eating play a role in the self-regulation of moods?

  • Papers
  • Published:
Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Self-reported emotional experiences and eating behaviors were studied in college students in an attempt to determine what types of emotional experiences precede and follow binge eating and how specific types of compensatory behaviors modify these experiences. First-year male and female students (N=390) were surveyed for depression, anxiety, health status, life satisfaction, and eating attitudes (EAT-26). Those reporting recurrent binge eating episodes were asked to describe their emotional feelings before and after bingeing and before and after compensatory activities. EAT-26 scores corresponding to scores previously reported for eating disordered patients were found in 9.7% of students. Binge eating was nearly twice as frequent among females (16.4%) as males (8.6%) Among females, positive relationships were found between specific EAT-26 factors scores and both anxiety and depression scores. The emotional antecedents and consequences of binge eating and of compensatory activities were compared in three sub-groups of individuals who reported recurrent bingeing with loss of self-control during binges. The three sub-groups consisted of individuals who reported, 1) bingeing without engaging in compensatory activities, 2) bingeing and compensating by means other than vomiting (fasting, exercising, or use of laxatives or diuretics), and 3) bingeing and compensating by vomiting. Regardless of the type of activity, those individuals who engaged in compensatory activities reported greater negative affect preceding binge episodes than those who did not compensate. In addition, contrary to expectations, negative affect did not decrease, but instead increased significantly, following binge episodes and decreased immediately before and after compensatory activities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abraham, H.D., & Joseph, A.B. (1987). Bulimic vomiting alters pain tolerance and mood.International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 16(4), 311–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abraham, S.F., & Beumont, P.J. (1982). How patients describe bulimia or binge eating.Psychological Medicine, 12, 625–635.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1980).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-III. (3d ed. ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-III-R. (3rd ed., rev. ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (1994).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV. (4th ed. ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baucom, D.H., & Aiken, P.A. (1981). Effect of depressed mood on eating among obese and nonobese dieting and nondieting persons.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 41(3), 577–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, P.J., & Bowskill, R. (1986). Dysphoric mood and overeating.British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 25, 155.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R., Freeman, R., & Solyom, L. (1985). Mood and food: an analysis of bulimic episodes.Journal of Psychiatric Research, 19(2–3), 331–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Derogatis, L.R., Lipman, R.S., Rickels, K., Uhlenhuth, E.H., & Covi, L. (1974). The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report symptom inventory.Behavioral Science, 19, 1–15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen, R., & Griffin, S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale.Journal of Personality Assessment, 47, 1105–1117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elmore, D.K., & de Castro, J.M. (1990). Self-rated moods and hunger in relation to spontaneous eating behavior in bulimics, recovered bulimics, and normals.International Journal of Eating Disorders, 9, 179–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frank, R.E., Serdula, M.K., & Adame, D. (1991). Weight loss and bulimic eating behavior: changing patterns within a population of young adult women.Southern Medical Journal, 84, 457–460.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D.M., & Garfinkel, P.E. (1979). The eating attitudes test: an index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa.Psychological Medicine, 9, 273–279.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D.M., Olmsted, M.P., Bohr, Y., & Garfinkel, P.E. (1982). The eating attitudes test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates.Psychological Medicine, 12, 871–878.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grilo, C.M., Shiffman, S., & Carter-Campbell, J.T. (1994). Binge eating antecedents in normal-weight nonpurging females: is there consistency?International Journal of Eating Disorders, 16(3), 239–249.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Halmi, K.A., Falk, J.R., & Schwartz, E. (1981). Binge-eating and vomiting: A survey of a college population.Psychological Medicine, 11, 697–706.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heatherton, T.F., Nichols, P., Mahamedi, F., & Keel, P. (1995). Body weight, dieting, and eating disorder symptoms among college students, 1982 to 1992.American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 1623–1629.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, C.P., Polivy, J., Lank, C.N., & Heatherton, T.F. (1987). Anxiety, hunger, and eating behavior.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 264–269.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, L.K. (1990). Experiential aspects of bulimia nervosa. Implications for cognitive behavioral therapy.Behavior Modification, 14, 50–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C., & Larson, R. (1982). Bulimia: an analysis of moods and behavior.Psychosomatic Medicine, 44, 341–351.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, W.G., Schlundt, D.G., Barclay, D.R., Carr-Nangle, R.E., & Engler, L.B. (1995). A naturalistic functional analysis of binge eating.Behavior Therapy, 26, 101–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, H.I., & Kaplan, H.S. (1957). The psychosomatic concept of obesity.Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 125, 181–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaye, W.H., Gwirtsman, H.E., George, D.T., Weiss, S.R., & Jimerson, D.C. (1986). Relationship of mood alterations to bingeing behaviour in bulimia.British Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 479–485.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krahn, D., Kurth, C., Demitrack, M., & Drewnowski, A. (1992). The relationship of dieting severity and bulimic behaviors to alcohol and other drug use in young women.Journal of Substance Abuse, 4(4), 341–353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kurth, C.L., Krahn, D.D., Nairn, K., & Drewnowski, A. (1995). The severity of dieting and bingeing behaviors in college women: interview validation of survey data.Journal of Psychiatric Research, 29, 211–225.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leitenberg, H., & Rosen, J.C. (1988). Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Bulimia Nervosa. In M. Hersen, R. M. Eisler, & P. M. Miller (Eds.),Progress in Behavior Modification. (pp. 11–35). New York: Academic Press, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lingswiler, V.M., Crowther, J.H., & Stephens, M.A.P. (1987). Emotional reactivity and eating in binge eating and obesity.Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10(3), 287–299.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, J.E., Mussell, M.P., Peterson, C.B., Crow, S., Wonderlich, S.A., Crosby, R.D., Davis, T., & Weller, C. (1999). Hedonics of binge eating in women with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26(2), 165–170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C.B., Mitchell, J.E., Engbloom, S., Nugent, S., Mussell, M.P., Crow, S.J., & Miller, J.P. (1998). Binge eating disorder with and without a history of purging symptoms.International Journal of Eating Disorders, 24(3), 251–257.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Powell, A.L., & Thelen, M.H. (1996). Emotions and cognitions associated with binging and weight control behavior in bulimia.Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 40, 317–328.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Radloff, L. (1977). The CES-D scale: A self-report depression scale for research in the general population.Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlundt, D.G., Johnson, W.G., & Jarrell, M.P. (1985). A naturalistic functional analysis of eating behavior in bulimia and obesity. Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy: Bulimia (1983, Washington, District of Columbia).Advances in Behaviour Research & Therapy, 7, 149–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stice, E., Akutagawa, D., Gaggar, A., & Agras, W.S. (2000). Negative affect moderates the relation between dieting and binge eating.International Journal of Eating Disorders, 27(2), 218–229.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stickney, M.I., & Miltenberger, R.G. (1999). Evaluating direct and indirect measures for the functional assessment of binge eating.International Journal of Eating Disorders, 26(2), 195–204.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stickney, M.I., Miltenberger, R.G., & Wolff, G. (1999). A descriptive analysis of factors contributing to binge eating.Journal of Behavior Therapy & Experimental Psychiatry, 30(3), 177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Timmerman, M.G., Wells, L.A., & Chen, S.P. (1990). Bulimia nervosa and associated alcohol abuse among secondary school students.Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(1), 118–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh, B.T., Gladis, M., & Roose, S.P. (1987). Food intake and mood in anorexia nervosa and bulimia.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 499, 231–238.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Tellegen, A., & Clark, L. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales.Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitaker, A.H. (1992). An epidemiological study of anorectic and bulimic symptoms in adolescent girls: implications for pediatricians.Pediatric Annals, 21, 752–759.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Montana State University, 59717, Bozeman, Montana, USA

    Wesley C. Lynch & Andrea Everingham

  2. Swingle Health Service, Montana State University, 59717, Bozeman, Montana, USA

    Jane Dubitzky

  3. 4302 West Quail Ridge Drive, 83703, Boise, Idaho

    Mimi Hartman

  4. Department of Psychology, Knox College, 61401, Galesburg, Illinois

    Tim Kasser

Authors
  1. Wesley C. Lynch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrea Everingham
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jane Dubitzky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mimi Hartman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tim Kasser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wesley C. Lynch.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lynch, W.C., Everingham, A., Dubitzky, J. et al. Does binge eating play a role in the self-regulation of moods?. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science 35, 298–313 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02688792

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02688792

Keywords

Search

Navigation