Psychology Commons^™

Sexual Victimization And Disordered Eating Among Sorority And Fraternity Members, Jennifer L. Mcginness

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A clear relationship exists between a history of sexual victimization and disordered eating behaviors characteristic of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. Additionally, college students and more specifically, members of Greek organizations are at an increased risk of experiencing sexual victimization and developing disordered eating behaviors. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of Greek membership on the development of different types of disordered eating behaviors following sexual assault. Additionally, research has neglected to address novel disordered eating patterns, such as those characteristic of orthorexia nervosa, and the presence of these patterns following sexual assault. To …

Perceived Discrimination And Food Consumption, Jessica Korins

Theses and Dissertations

Obesity is a public health concern that is associated with numerous life-limiting chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension. Marginalized groups such as Black, Latinos, and Native Americans experience obesity and related illnesses at high rates. Research suggests that diet is one of the causes of these illnesses, and as such understanding the determinants of diet may assist in addressing health disparities in the United States. Literature suggests that diet may be associated with stressors such as perceived discrimination. However, few studies have assessed this relationship within the Native American population, and none have employed ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to …

A Silent Struggle: Eating Disorders In College, Grace P. Olechowski

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

Alcohol Use And Drinking-Related Eating Restriction Behaviors Among College Students, Peter Preonas

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The combination of eating restrictions and alcohol use is a prevalent problem on college campuses. Some students engage in eating restrictions prior to drinking to limit their overall caloric intake or to enhance intoxication effects. To date, limited research suggests that drinking-related eating restriction behaviors are associated with additional and unique health risks relative to high-risk drinking or eating restrictions alone. As such, additional research examining this unique, risky set of behaviors is warranted. Consequently, the present study aimed to address gaps in the literature by further examining the risks associated with drinking-related eating restrictions and testing trait factors related …

Twinks, Jocks, And Bears, Oh My! Differing Body Ideals Among Gay Male Subcommunities, Samuel Fogarty

Honors Theses

Recent studies have focused on disordered eating psychopathology among gay men, particularly when oriented towards thinness or muscularity. Gay men are at increased risk of eating disorder symptoms when compared to heterosexual men and exhibit similar rates to women (Feldmen & Meyer, 2007; Frederick & Essayli, 2016; Siconolfi, Halkitis, Allomong, & Burton, 2009). However, the results remain muddled surrounding the topic of thinness- or muscularity-oriented eating psychopathology; the current study provides a potential response in subcultural gay appearance ideals. The present study examined the relationship between three gay subcultural appearance identities (twinks, jocks, and bears) and disordered eating attitudes and …

An Interdisciplinary Study To Understand Treatment Seeking Behavior Among Female Survivors Of Anorexia Nervosa, Meaghan Victoria Tipton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was done to examine what psychosocial factors influence treatment seeking behavior among female survivors of eating disorders. This study uses a mixed methods survey consisting of open-ended item questions regarding treatment experience and social environment, and close-ended items to measure constructs from the Health Belief Model. Fourteen participants were recruited for this study to retrospectively detail their experiences of treatment during their eating disorder. All fourteen participants identified as Caucasian, thirteen identified as female, one identified with other gender, each with a history of medically diagnosed anorexia nervosa. The mean of age of current participants was 29.46, and …

Social Responsiveness And Objectification: The Moderating Roles Of Serotonin Transporter And Serotonin Receptor 2a Genotypes In An Objectification Theory Model Of Disordered Eating, Grace A. Sullivan, Sarah J. Gervais, Rebecca L. Brock, Scott F. Stoltenberg

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Feminist scholars have called for gender researchers to consider gene-environment interactions for gender-imbalanced disorders (Salk and Hyde Psychology of Women Quarterly, 36, 395–411, 2012). Responding to these calls, the present study integrates objectification theory (Fredrickson and Roberts Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 173–206, 1997) and genetic research. In the tested model, objectification experiences are associated with disordered eating through body surveillance and body shame, and serotonin transporter (SLC6A4) genotypes (5-HTTLPR and rs25531), serotonin 2A receptor SNP genotypes (HTR2A rs6311), and the epistatic interaction between those genotypes function as moderators. U.S. undergraduate women (n = 526) …

An Intuitive Eating Intervention For College Women With Disordered Eating: Evaluating Two Accessible And Affordable Approaches, Carolyn B. Burnette

Theses and Dissertations

Undergraduate women of all racial and ethnic groups engage in disordered eating behaviors (DEBs) at alarming rates. Most women do not receive treatment, with the largest disparities observed in women of color and those at higher weights. Prevailing interventions have limitations that could exacerbate these disparities, such as an emphasis on the thin ideal, which is often considered less relevant for some women of color. This is concerning, as disordered eating is often chronic and symptom crossover is common. Thus, a transdiagnostic, inclusive secondary prevention approach could enhance outcomes by addressing the spectrum of DEBs in diverse women. The purpose …

Dynamics Of Momentary Perceived Self-Regulation Abilities As Novel Predictors Of Overeating In Daily Life, Kayla Dawn Skinner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite an increase of research in the realm of overeating - a well-known contributor to obesity - the psychological mechanisms that maintain overeating behaviors across time and context are still poorly understood. It may be that people’s perceptions of their self-regulation abilities fluctuate over time, and overeating results from momentary increases in negative mood eliciting negative perceptions of their self-efficacy and current willpower, stronger beliefs that cravings can be controlled and a greater ability to tolerate distress. The current study examined the dynamics of and momentary predictors of overeating using a 7-day EMA protocol to study unsuccessful restrained eaters (n …

An Integrated Model Of Eating Disorder Risk And Protective Factors: Implications For Research And Treatment, Leslie Alison Davis-Waddle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors are significant public health concerns, especially among college-age women. Despite extensive research, the complex nature of disordered eating and its etiology has prevented a satisfactory predictive model from being developed and validated and has therefore hindered the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies. This study aimed to integrate four of the most common etiological theories into a model to predict disordered eating behaviors. Bivariate correlations and moderation analyses were conducted to determine the strength of relationships between variables and to determine whether a protective factor (i.e., self-compassion) moderates the effects of risk factors …

Long-Term Focus Of Attentional Biases, Garrett Pollert

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Prior research regarding attentional biases, or patterns of visual attention, have focused on attention over the initial second when exposed to pictoral food stimuli. This manuscript reviews the literature regarding attentional biases in overweight/obese individuals over this timeframe for the two previously defined components of attentional bias (attentional orientation and attentional maintenance). A new component is proposed, called “attentional re-engagement,” defined as the pattern of attentional shifts towards target stimulus types over longer periods of time. Overweight/Obese and Normal-weighted participants were recruited and engaged in an Extended Dot Probe task, wherein attentional orientation, maintenance, and re-engagement were assessed using the …

Understanding Feeding Style And Young Children's Consumption Of Food, Mary W. Bean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to increased rates of childhood obesity since 2010, researchers have examined family environmental factors and family influences on children's consumption of healthy foods. While previous research has examined how factors such as food presentation and the food intake of other family members can predict a child's body mass index, there has been little research examining whether parent factors predict the amount of healthy foods children eat. This quantitative survey study examined whether certain parent factors, specifically parents' attitudes about food, parents' feeding styles, and parents' attachment styles, predicted the amount of fruits and vegetables children ate. Understanding the extent …

Media Body Images And Males' Body Dissatisfaction, Muscularity, Disordered Eating, And Depression, Diana Carrillo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Body objectification theories propose that humans have an innate desire to compare themselves with others. When self-objectification is influenced by media exposure to idealized body images, results may be unrealistic self-perceptions and increased risk of depression, eating pathology, and overexercising. Although considerable work has been done to study these processes among women, much less is known about effects of media exposure on adult men. In response to this gap, this quantitative research study examined effects of exposure to an idealized man's body image on men observers' body dissatisfaction and related behaviors. A convenience sample of 119 freshman and sophomore community …

Reliability And Validity Of The Humboldt Food Addiction Questionnaire, Sarah R. Taylor

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Current research shows that foods high in sugar, salt, and fat can illicit addictive responses (Pursey, Stanwell, Gearhardt, Collins, & Burrows, 2014). Although measures of overeating pathology exist, only a few are dedicated to food addiction. Two of these measures are the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS; Gearhardt, Corbin, & Brownell, 2009b) and the Eating Behaviors Questionnaire (EBQ; Merlo, Klingman, Malasanos, & Silverstein, 2009). Given the shortage of food addiction measures, the Humboldt Food Addiction Questionnaire (HFAQ) was developed to supplement the need for additional tools. Recruited from both a university and online, 626 participants completed this study. Reliability of …

E-Cigarette Use Among Individuals Diagnosed With An Eating Disorder, Alexa Mary L'Insalata

Honors Papers

BACKGROUND. E-cigarette use has increased exponentially in recent years. Prior research suggests that some adult e-cigarette users vape to lose weight. The current study examined whether rates of vaping to lose weight are elevated among American adults diagnosed with an eating disorder (i.e., Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, or Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder [OSFED]).

METHODS. American adult e-cigarette users who reported vaping at least weekly and who either had a history of an eating disorder (n = 205, 86.3% with a current diagnosis, 75.2% female, 83.0% White, 33.54 [SD = 8.90] years, 71.4% cigarette smokers) or …

Piloting A Screening Tool For Eating And Eating-Related Behavior, Michael N. Reynolds

Dissertations

Obesity is a common medical condition associated with negative health and social outcomes. Obesity has a primary malleable behavioral cause, eating more calories than are metabolized. While metabolic rate is malleable with exercise, eating can more quickly add calories than exercising can subtract them. In the past, behavioral weight-loss treatment studies relied on multi-component package interventions that have shown reliable patterns of participant weight-loss during treatment and weight-regain in follow-up. Those findings could be conceptualized as an ABA withdrawal design, eating behavior returns to baseline after the prosthetic contingencies of the treatment study are withdrawn. We must develop ways to …

An Analysis Of The Factors Influencing Bored And Emotional Eating: Should Bored Eating Exist As A Separate Construct?, Erin Elizabeth Stuck

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Emotional eating pertains to eating in response to negative emotional experiences, and can occur for a variety of reasons. Individuals may emotionally eat as a means of submerging themselves into positive reinforcing states, as a way of coping, or as a distraction from their negative emotional experience (Cialdini, 1973; Kemp, Bui, & Grier, 2013; and Spoor et al., 2006). Historically, emotional eating has included boredom. Recent research has suggested that bored eating may be a separate construct from emotional eating (Koball et al., 2012). Thus, the present study investigated the variables associated with both emotional eating and bored eating with …

Coping With Racial Discrimination: The Impact Of Substance Use, Emotional Eating, And Emotional Support On Mental And Physical Health, Maurice Endsley, Jr.

Dissertations

Racial discrimination is a likely contributor to disparate health outcomes for African-American and Hispanic-Americans. The current study elaborates on previous research by assessing the impact of three coping variables, substance use, emotional eating, and social support, which may explain the relationship between racial discrimination and poorer perceptions physical functioning and three health maladies, including hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the coping responses were hypothesized to serve as protective factors against the development of depression and anger symptoms. A total of 424 Hispanic, African-American participants between the ages of 18 and 65 completed an online survey. A six variable model …

Behavior Analysis Program To Improve Habits Of Physical Activity, Eating, And Sleeping, Ivan Noe Martinez Salazar

Dissertations

An Internet-based five-week duration program to improve “health habits” using behavior analysis principles and eHealth technology was developed and evaluated. The “health habits” include recurring behaviors that impact health status such as eating, sleeping, and physical activity.

Ten adult participants were recruited online from Mexico. A multiple baseline design was used and participants were randomly assigned into two different groups (i.e., ABBAA and AABBA groups). Participants received online training using videos describing the characteristics of the program and its components. Each participant recorded selected health behaviors using a Microsoft Excel® tool designed specifically for this program’s goal achievements. Participants reported …

Planning Versus Action: Different Decision-Making Processes Predict Plans To Change One’S Diet Versus Actual Dietary Behavior, Marc T. Kiviniemi, Carolyn R. Brown-Kramer

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Most health decision-making models posit that deciding to engage in a health behavior involves forming a behavioral intention which then leads to actual behavior. However, behavioral intentions and actual behavior may not be functionally equivalent. Two studies examined whether decision-making factors predicting dietary behaviors were the same as or distinct from those predicting intentions. Actual dietary behavior was proximally predicted by affective associations with the behavior. By contrast, behavioral intentions were predicted by cognitive beliefs about behaviors, with no contribution of affective associations. This dissociation has implications for understanding individual regulation of health behaviors and for behavior change interventions.

Mindful Eating: Trait And State Mindfulness Predict Healthier Eating Behavior, Christian H. Jordan, Wan Wang, Linda R. Donatoni, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

Obesity and excess weight are significant societal problems. Mindfulness may encourage healthier weight and eating habits. Across four studies, we found a positive relation between mindfulness and healthier eating. Trait mindfulness was associated with less impulsive eating, reduced calorie consumption, and healthier snack choices. In addition, we found a causal effect of mindfulness on healthier eating. An experimental manipulation of state mindfulness led participants to consume fewer calories in a spontaneous eating task. We also found preliminary evidence that mindfulness affects eating behavior by encouraging attitudinal preferences for healthier foods. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that mindfulness encourages …

Using The Bite Counter To Overcome The Effect Of Plate Size On Food Intake, Phillip Jasper

All Theses

According to a recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, overweight and obesity have reached epidemic levels in the United States (Flegal et at., 2010, NHANES, 2010) There are many treatments for overweight and obesity, the most popular being behavioral interventions (Berkel et al., 2005). Self-monitoring is one of the most important factors of successful behavioral interventions (Baker & Kirschenbaum, 1993). The Bite Counter is a newly developed tool for weight loss that aids in the self-monitoring process (Dong et al., 2011). The purpose of the current study was to determine if bite count feedback and an instruction on the …

The Relative Attenuation Of Self-Stimulation, Eating And Drinking Produced By Dopamine-Receptor Blockade, E. T. Rolls, B. J. Rolls, P. H. Kelly, S. G. Shaw, R. J. Wood, Robert H.I. Dale

Robert H. I. Dale

Spiroperidol, which blocks dopamine (DA) receptors, attenuated self-stimulation of the nucleus accumbens, septal area, hippocampus, anterior hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is thus involved in self-stimulation of many sites (in addition to the lateral hypothalamus). The attenuation was not a simple motor impairment of the speed of bar-pressing in that the nucleus accumbens and septal self-stimulation rates were lower than those in treated animals self-stimulating at other sites (Experiment 1). Feeding was partly attenuated, and drinking was much less attenuated by the spiroperidol. Since the rats bar-pressed for brain- stimulation reward, chewed pellets to eat, and licked a tube …

Exploring The Energy Link Between Emotion Regulation At Work And Health Behaviors, Ryan Christopher Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present study explores the process through which the regulation of emotions at work, also known as emotional labor, depletes self-regulatory resources, specifically energy, and distally impacts health behaviors in the form of less physical activity and more unhealthy eating. Differences in relationships between two forms of emotional labor, surface acting and deep acting, as well as differences between psychological and physical energy depletion, are explored. Additionally, the roles of trait mindfulness and future temporal focus are examined as between-individual differences moderating the proposed relationships.

Multi-level analysis of daily diary data collected from participants (N = 108 participants) over ten …

Constructing Body Image In University Women: The Relationship Between Self-Esteem, Self-Compassion, And Intuitive Eating, Peta Stapleton, Ankita Nikalje

Peta B. Stapleton

Body image related concerns among women are well researched. However, this research has consistently focussed on identifying pathological and maladaptive correlates of body image. Body image research has been based on the assumption that a positive body image is merely an absence of or is defined by low levels of a negative body image. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between self-esteem, self-compassion and intuitive eating in conceptualising body image related avoidance behaviours. Female university students (N = 137) completed four measures online: the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Self-Compassion Scale of Neff, Intuitive Eating Scale of …

Health Locus Of Control, Self-Awareness, And Integrative Eating Styles In University Students, Peta Stapleton, Hayley Smith

Peta B. Stapleton

The psychological and physical well-being of students is a cause for concern. For the majority of the student population this means substantial changes in healthy behaviours including eating habits. The current research was aimed at investigating integrative eating in 170 Australian university students. Self-awareness and health locus of control were measured in order to assess their relative impact on positive integrative eating practices. The self-report measures included Your Personal Eating Style Profile, Forms A and B of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, and the Situational Self-Awareness Scale. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided tentative support for the hypothesis that …

The Effects Of Somatisation, Depression, And Anxiety On Eating Habits Among University Students, Peta Stapleton, Morreen Brunetti

Peta B. Stapleton

While it is known that depression and anxiety are associated with poor eating habits, little is known about the relationship between these common psychological disorders, somatisation and poor eating habits. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of depression, anxiety and somatisation on eating habits across gender. University students (N = 167) participated in the study by completing an internet based survey. No specific gender differences were found for depression, anxiety or eating habits scores. However, females had significantly higher somatisation scores. Higher somatisation scores were significantly positively associated with reported depression, reported anxiety and poorer …

Ecological Momentary Assessment And Time-Varying Factors Associated With Eating And Physical Activity, Amy Jeffers

Theses and Dissertations

The obesity epidemic is a significant problem in the United States. It is well established that lifestyle factors, such as unhealthy eating and physical inactivity, are key contributors. These causes are generally voluntary activities and it is important to examine health decision-making with respect to these behaviors. The current study examined time-varying factors of stress and mood and their relationship with healthy eating and physical activity in a sample of undergrads (N = 26). Ecological momentary assessment via one's cell phone was used to collect multiple measurements over six days. Positive mood was found to follow physical activity episodes for …

Salivation, Stephen Crites

Stephen L Crites Jr.

No abstract provided.

Eating And Substance Use: A Comparison Of Latter-Day Saint And Non-Latter-Day Saint College Females, Monika Sandberg

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined differences between Latter-Day Saint (LDS) and non-Latter-Day Saint (non-LDS) females across six universities in the United States regarding desire to engage in substance use and eating behaviors in response to negative emotion. Additionally, this study explored differences between LDS and non-LDS females regarding body image, as well as body image differences between LDS females residing inside Utah and outside Utah. Findings suggested that non-LDS females were more likely to experience increased urges to use substances in response to negative emotion than LDS females, consistent with LDS doctrine teaching the avoidance of substance use. LDS females also did …