Does implicit emotion regulation in binge eating disorder matter?
Athena Robinson1, Debra L Safer1, Julia L Austin1
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Stanford, CA 94305-5722, USA.
Eating Behaviors
|June 29, 2015
Summary
Binge eating disorder (BED) treatment improved implicit emotion regulation, which is associated with BED symptoms and how individuals regulate emotions consciously. This suggests implicit emotion regulation is a key mechanism in BED recovery.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Binge eating disorder (BED) is a complex condition often linked to difficulties in emotion regulation.
- Implicit emotion regulation, occurring outside conscious awareness, has not been extensively studied in BED.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between implicit emotion regulation, BED symptomatology, and explicit emotion regulation.
- To determine if implicit emotion regulation can be modified through intervention for BED.
Main Methods:
- Adults with BED completed the Emotion Conflict Task (ECT) to assess implicit emotion regulation.
- Study 1 correlated BED symptoms and explicit emotion regulation with ECT performance pre- and post-treatment.
- Study 2 compared ECT performance in BED patients to healthy controls.
Main Results:
- BED symptomatology and explicit emotion regulation were significantly correlated with implicit emotion regulation.
- Following BED treatment, implicit emotion regulation performance improved, moving closer to that of healthy controls.
- Treatment normalized implicit emotion regulation in individuals with BED.
Conclusions:
- Implicit emotion regulation appears to be a significant mechanism through which psychotherapy alleviates BED symptoms.
- Targeting implicit emotion regulation could enhance the effectiveness of future BED treatments.
- Further research into implicit emotion regulation is crucial for refining BED conceptualizations and interventions.
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