The Roles of Anxiety and Self-Esteem in the Risk of Eating Disorders and Compulsive Buying Behavior

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Modern society faces rising new addictions and poly-dependencies.
• Compulsive behaviors like buying and eating disorders are increasingly prevalent.
• Understanding the psychological underpinnings of these addictions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine self-esteem's mediating role between trait anxiety and new addictions.
• Specifically investigating compulsive buying behavior and eating disorders.
• To analyze differences in trait anxiety's effect on eating disorders among compulsive consumers.

Main Methods:

• Survey of 352 participants (67.9% women).
• Statistical analysis to assess direct and mediating effects.
• Multigroup analysis to compare compulsive vs. non-compulsive consumers.

Main Results:

• Trait anxiety directly influences both compulsive buying and eating disorders.
• Self-esteem significantly mediates the relationship between trait anxiety and these addictions.
• Compulsive consumers showed a stronger effect of trait anxiety on eating disorders across all domains.

Conclusions:

• Self-esteem is a key factor in the relationship between anxiety and new addictions.
• Trait anxiety disproportionately affects eating disorders in individuals with compulsive consumption patterns.
• Further research is needed for effective prevention and intervention strategies for these disorders.