Shared and Unique Risk Factors for Binge Eating and Binge Drinking in a Community-based Sample of Girls

Area of Science:

• Adolescent psychology
• Behavioral science
• Public health

Background:

• Binge eating and binge drinking often begin in adolescence and frequently co-occur, particularly in females.
• Identifying shared and distinct risk factors is crucial for developing effective etiological models and targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine shared and unique risk factors for adolescent binge eating and binge drinking.
• To investigate the predictive impact of negative emotionality, sensation-seeking, impulsivity, body mass index, thinness expectancies, and alcohol expectancies on these behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of self-report data from 1,994 participants in the Pittsburgh Girls Study, a population-based longitudinal study.
• Path analysis was used to assess the influence of age 14 predictors on age 16 binge eating and drinking, controlling for baseline behaviors.

Main Results:

• Low comorbidity was observed between binge eating and drinking (1.9% at age 14; 4.4% at age 16).
• Negative emotionality at age 14 predicted both binge eating and drinking at age 16.
• Sensation-seeking predicted binge drinking only; impulsivity was not associated with either behavior.
• Positive alcohol expectancies predicted both binge eating and drinking, contrary to hypotheses.

Conclusions:

• Negative emotionality and positive alcohol expectancies appear to be significant shared risk factors for adolescent binge eating and drinking.
• Findings suggest that unified prevention and treatment strategies targeting negative emotionality and alcohol expectancies may be beneficial.
• Impulse control and appearance-related factors were not significant predictors in this study, warranting further investigation.