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Experiential Avoidance During Mealtimes Among Individuals With Eating Disorders
Claire E Cusack1, Rowan A Hunt1, Jesse Rae2
1University of Louisville.
Behavior Therapy
|August 22, 2024
Summary
Guilt, not anxiety, predicted future avoidance in individuals with eating disorders. Physical discomfort and avoidance also influenced each other during mealtimes, suggesting new intervention targets.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychopathology
Background:
- The negative emotion-avoidance cycle is central to psychopathology.
- Research has primarily focused on anxiety, neglecting other emotions like guilt.
- Internal experiences beyond anxiety may maintain unhealthy avoidance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate prospective relationships between anxiety, guilt, physical discomfort, and experiential avoidance during mealtimes in individuals with eating disorders (EDs).
- To examine how these factors influence each other within and between individuals.
Main Methods:
- 108 participants with EDs completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) four times daily for 25 days.
- Multilevel models were used to analyze between- and within-person effects.
- Examined prospective associations among negative emotions, physical discomfort, and experiential avoidance.
Main Results:
- Guilt, but not anxiety, significantly predicted subsequent experiential avoidance at the next meal.
- Mealtime physical discomfort and experiential avoidance demonstrated a reciprocal prospective relationship.
- Anxiety did not predict future experiential avoidance when guilt was included in the model.
Conclusions:
- Guilt appears to be a more significant driver of experiential avoidance during mealtimes in EDs than anxiety.
- Physical discomfort and experiential avoidance form a bidirectional cycle during mealtimes.
- Interventions targeting experiential avoidance and physical discomfort may disrupt guilt cycles in EDs.
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