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Published on: October 22, 2015
Emotion coupling and regulation in anorexia nervosa
John R E Fox1, Emily Smithson, Sarah Baillie
1Eating Disorders Unit, Russell House, Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal, Cheadle, Cheshire, UK. john.fox@manchester.ac.uk
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy
|November 21, 2012
Summary
Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN) exhibit dysfunctional emotion regulation. Anger induction increased disgust and body size estimation in AN patients, supporting the
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with complex emotion regulation difficulties.
- The concept of 'emotion coupling' between anger and disgust may explain specific AN symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate emotion regulation strategies in individuals with AN.
- To test the 'emotion coupling' hypothesis linking anger and disgust in AN.
- To explore the relationship between emotion coupling and eating disorder symptomatology.
Main Methods:
- A laboratory-based mood induction procedure was employed.
- Participants included individuals with AN (n=22) and matched controls (n=19).
- Measures included eating pathology, core beliefs, emotion regulation, anger, disgust, and body size estimation.
Main Results:
- Individuals with AN displayed significantly more internal-dysfunctional emotion regulation compared to controls.
- Anger induction led to a significant increase in disgust and body size estimation in the AN group.
- These findings support the 'emotion coupling' hypothesis in the context of AN.
Conclusions:
- The results highlight dysfunctional emotion regulation in AN.
- The 'emotion coupling' of anger and disgust is implicated in AN symptomatology.
- Findings are discussed within the framework of the Schematic, Propositional, Analogical and Associative Representation Systems model.
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