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Relationship between sensation seeking, alcohol problems and bulimic symptoms: a community-based, longitudinal study
Leon Hirvelä1, Pyry N Sipilä2, Anna Keski-Rahkonen2
1Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. leon.hirvela@helsinki.fi.
Eating and Weight Disorders : EWD
|April 26, 2021
Summary
Sensation seeking in adolescence did not predict bulimic symptoms in adulthood for women. For men, the link was explained by alcohol problems, suggesting minor clinical significance for this sensation seeking-bulimia association.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms are behaviors linked to alcohol problems.
- The relationship between sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the longitudinal association between sensation seeking in adolescence and bulimic symptoms in early adulthood.
- To determine if alcohol problems mediate or moderate this relationship.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 2000 Finnish men and 2467 women (born 1974-1979) completed the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) at age 18.
- Alcohol problems (Mm-MAST) and bulimic symptoms (EDI-Bulimia) were assessed at ages 22-27.
- Pearson's correlation and linear regression analyses were used to examine relationships.
Main Results:
- Alcohol problems moderately correlated with sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms in both genders (r=0.21-0.31).
- The correlation between sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms was weak in men (r=0.06) and non-significant in women (r=0.03).
- Adjusting for alcohol problems eliminated the association between sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms in men; no significant correlations were found using clinical scoring for bulimia.
Conclusions:
- Sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms were not associated in women.
- In men, the association between sensation seeking and bulimic symptoms was fully explained by increased alcohol problems.
- The clinical significance of the sensation seeking-bulimia association may be minor, despite potential population-level relevance.
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