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Updated: May 9, 2026

Hyponeophagia: A Measure of Anxiety in the Mouse
Published on: May 17, 2011
Perceived hunger mediates the relationship between attachment anxiety and emotional eating
Katherine E Alexander1, Harold I Siegel
1Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Department of Psychology, Newark, NJ 07102, USA. kleesha@psychology.rutgers.edu
Abstract:
Eating is an inherently emotional activity and the attachment system is an emotion regulation system. Individuals with attachment insecurity have less interoceptive awareness and difficulty regulating emotion. Insecurely attached individuals may eat emotionally because they misinterpret internal hunger cues, (i.e. think they are hungry when they are experiencing some other internal, attachment-related state). The current study found a positive association between attachment anxiety and emotional eating. This relationship was mediated by perceived hunger.
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