Exploring the role of negative urgency in body dissatisfaction in young adults

Body dissatisfaction is a key predictor of poor mental health and disordered eating, yet prior studies often examine its psychological correlates in isolation or within narrow demographic groups. This study tested whether negative urgency-the tendency to act impulsively in response to negative emotions-mediates the association between depression and body dissatisfaction in young adults. Participants were drawn from the Nathan Kline Institute Rockland Sample (N = 232; 127 males, 105 females). A composite body dissatisfaction score was derived from Shape Concern and Weight Concern subscales. Path analyses indicated that negative urgency mediated the depression-body dissatisfaction link in the full sample, driven by significant mediation among males but not females. Specificity analyses for Shape and Weight Concern showed the same pattern. Findings highlight negative urgency as a vulnerability factor connecting mood symptoms to body dissatisfaction, underscoring sex differences and the need for targeted interventions addressing impulsivity and emotion regulation.