The role of emotional intelligence and negative affect in bulimic symptomatology

doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.05.006

Comprehensive Psychiatry

Volume 48, Issue 5, September–October 2007, Pages 458-464

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2007.05.006 Get rights and content

Abstract

Emotions, particularly emotion dysregulation, play an important role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders as evidenced by the emphasis given to addressing emotions in a number of psychotherapeutic approaches that have been adapted for the treatment of women with disordered eating. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of emotional intelligence and other emotion regulation variables in the relationship between negative affect and bulimic symptomatology. One hundred fifty undergraduate females were assessed via a packet of self-report questionnaires that included measures of emotion regulation, including emotional intelligence (BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory—Short Form), alexithymia (Twenty-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale), and coping (Brief COPE Inventory), negative affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule—Expanded Form and Affect Intensity Measure), and bulimic symptomatology (Bulimia Test—Revised). Results of multiple regression analyses indicated that each conceptual area of interest contributed to the prediction of bulimic symptomatology. In addition, the measures of emotion regulation accounted for significant variance in bulimic symptomatology even after controlling for negative affect. Emotional intelligence and other emotion regulation variables did not moderate the relationship between negative affect and bulimic symptomatology. However, results highlight the role of emotion in disordered eating behaviors and support the negative affect and emotion dysregulation theories of eating disorders.

Introduction

Approximately 10 million women and 1 million men in the United States have an eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia nervosa, and as many as 25 million more have binge eating disorder [1], [2], [3], [4]. In addition, the prevalence of subclinical or atypical eating disorders is at least twice that of full syndrome eating disorders [5]. Emotions, particularly emotion dysregulation, play an important role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders, particularly those involving binge eating [6]. Identifying factors that influence the strength and direction of the relationship between emotion dysregulation, defined as an emotional response that is not well controlled, and eating disorder symptomatology is a priority for further theoretical development and clinical interventions.

Emotions and affective states have frequently been hypothesized to be influential factors in binge eating episodes [6]. Negative affect has been identified as the most commonly cited antecedent to binge eating [6], and longitudinal studies have identified negative affect as a predictor of bulimic behaviors [7]. The affect regulation model of binge eating (see Polivy and Herman [6] for a review) posits that binge eating occurs in response to negative emotions, temporarily decreasing the level of negative emotions that are being experienced and therefore negatively reinforcing the binging behavior. This model and other theories that address the role of emotions in eating disorders, particularly those involving binge eating, identify the dysregulation of emotions as fundamental to the development and maintenance of disordered eating [8], [9], [10].

Section snippets

Emotional intelligence

The role of emotional intelligence (EI) in eating disorders has been surprisingly underresearched. Bar-On [11] defines EI as a group of noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence an individual's ability to effectively cope with environmental demands and pressures. Having high EI is generally regarded as having a better ability to control emotions effectively and to cope with everyday challenges, which contributes to good mental health [12].

The construct of EI has been

Emotional intelligence as a moderator between negative affect and bulimic symptomatology

The importance of affect regulation in the development and maintenance of eating disorders involving binge eating has been explored in a variety of studies [8], [9], [10]. Although the relationship between symptoms of eating disorders and concepts related to EI such as coping and alexithymia has been explored, very little research has examined the actual association between EI and bulimic symptomatology. An examination of the association between EI and bulimic symptomatology should demonstrate

Study hypotheses

First, it was hypothesized that bulimic symptomatology would be predicted by variables from among the following categories: (1) emotion regulation, that is, EI, alexithymia, and coping; and (2) negative affect, that is, frequency and intensity of negative affect. Second, it was hypothesized that emotion regulation variables would continue to significantly predict variance in bulimic symptomatology after controlling for negative affect. Lastly, it was hypothesized that the relationship between

Participants

One hundred fifty-four participants were recruited to participate in this study from a population of female undergraduate students attending a private Midwestern university. Participants were enrolled in one or more undergraduate courses in psychology and given the opportunity to participate in the study to satisfy a course requirement or for extra credit points.

Measures

A demographic questionnaire addressed information regarding the age, ethnicity, and year in school of the participants. Height and

Characteristics of the sample

Study participants ranged in age from 17 to 23 years, with a mean age of 18.66 years. Seventy-seven percent of the sample identified their primary race as white, 10% as Asian, 7% as African American/black, 5% as Hispanic, and 1% as fitting another racial category. Freshmen in college comprised 62% of the sample. The BMI of the participants ranged from 16.83 to 40.34, with a mean of 23.24 kg/m². According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines [42], 6.5% of the sample was

Discussion

The association between measures of emotional regulation and bulimic symptomatology was assessed first before and then after controlling for negative affectivity. Results showed that EI was the only significant emotion regulation variable to predict bulimic symptomatology, accounting for 9% of the variance, which is somewhat lower than the 17% that was previously reported by Koifman and Thomas [13]. An analysis combining measures of emotion regulation (including EI, alexithymia, and coping) and

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Eating disorders are psychiatric disorders that have a significant negative impact on a person's physical and mental health. Emotional intelligence (EI) has been hypothesized to be negatively associated with disordered eating behaviors, however previous research on this hypothesis has shown contradictory results. Therefore, the current meta-analysis aimed at exploring the relationship between EI and disordered eating behaviors based on previous studies. Analysis of 20 studies using a three-level random-effects meta-analysis model revealed an overall negative association between EI and eating disorders, r = −0.17 (95% CI: −0.25, −0.08; p < .001), with a small effect size.
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The role of emotional intelligence and negative affect in bulimic symptomatology

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence as a moderator between negative affect and bulimic symptomatology

Study hypotheses

Participants

Measures

Characteristics of the sample

Discussion

Behav Ther

Behav Ther

Cogn Behav Pract

Compr Psychiatry

Compr Psychiatry

Pers Individ Differ

Compr Psychiatry

J Psychosom Res

J Pers Soc Psychol

J Psychosom Res

Epidemiology of bulimia nervosa

Binge eating and bulimia nervosa: distribution and determinants

Anorexia and bulimia: anatomy of a social epidemic

The distribution of eating disorders

The spectrum of eating disturbances

Int J Eat Disord

Etiology of binge eating: psychological mechanisms

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

Integr Physiol Behav Sci

BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i): technical manual

Low emotional intelligence and mental illness

The Eating Attitudes Test: psychometric features and clinical correlates

Psychol Med

A revision of the Bulimia Test: the BULIT-R

Psychol Assess

The prevalence of alexithymia characteristics in psychosomatic patients

Psychother Psychosom

Alexithymia in women with anorexia nervosa

Br J Psychiatry