Temporal Associations Between Body Checking and Eating Pathology in Adolescent Girls with Binge-Spectrum Eating...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Body checking behaviors, such as frequent self-weighing, are reported by up to 92% of individuals with eating disorders (EDs).
• These behaviors exacerbate body dissatisfaction, negative affect, and dietary restriction, perpetuating ED symptoms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the types and frequency of body checking behaviors in adolescent girls with binge-spectrum EDs.
• To explore the prospective associations between body checking and ED symptoms like body dissatisfaction, fear of weight gain, and binge eating.
• To assess if body checking behaviors decrease over time in response to ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

Main Methods:

• Recruitment of 70 adolescent girls (aged 14-19) with binge eating.
• Baseline assessment of ED pathology via interviews and self-report measures.
• 21-day EMA protocol with 5 daily surveys to track body checking and ED symptoms.

Main Results:

• Data collection is ongoing, with analysis using linear and generalized mixed-effects models.
• The study will evaluate concurrent and prospective associations between body checking and ED symptoms.

Conclusions:

• Findings will illuminate patterns and impacts of body checking in adolescent girls with EDs.
• If body checking decreases with EMA, digital self-monitoring may offer a scalable ED treatment and prevention strategy.
• Results could inform targeted momentary interventions for ED symptom reduction.