Negative Emotional Reactivity to Minority Stress is Associated with Disordered Eating Among Sexual Minority Women

Sexual minority women (SMW) may be at increased risk for certain types of disordered eating compared to their heterosexual peers. Negative emotional reactivity is associated with disordered eating in general samples of adults, and negative emotional reactivity to minority stress (NERMS) is associated with poorer psychological outcomes among racially/ethnically minoritized groups. However, NERMS has rarely been studied among sexual minority individuals. The purpose of the current study was to examine individual differences in NERMS as a predictor of disordered eating among SMW. One hundred and thirty-two adult cisgender SMW completed measures of disordered eating (i.e. cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, and emotional eating), an adapted measure of heterosexist discrimination experienced over the past 12 months, and a measure of NERMS (operationalized as the elevation in each participant's negative affect after watching a video-based minority stress induction). Results revealed that NERMS directly and positively predicted uncontrolled eating and emotional eating, but not cognitive restraint, over and above the effect of heterosexist discrimination. NERMS did not moderate the association between heterosexist discrimination and any of the disordered eating outcomes. NERMS mediated the association between discrimination and emotional eating. Researchers should continue to examine NERMS as a predictor of psychopathology among sexual minority individuals.