Dimensions of control and symptoms of eating pathology

Abstract

Background. Eating pathology is suggested to be related to several dimensions of control, such as lower sense of control and higher fear of losing control. Eating disorders have a high comorbidity with anxiety disorders, and several underlying mechanisms are thought to contribute to this overlap, one of them being anxiety control. This study investigated the relationship between self-control, desire for control, anxiety control and inhibitory control, and symptoms of eating pathology. Method. Fifty women of 18+ years were recruited in the community. They filled out questionnaires measuring eating pathology, self-control, desire for control, anxiety control and general information such as age, they completed the Go/No-Go Task measuring inhibitory control, and their length and weight was measured. Results. Multiple regression analyses showed no significant relation between the control measures and symptoms of eating pathology. Furthermore, no significant relation was found between self-control and inhibitory control. However, a trend was found in the relation between self-control and symptoms of eating pathology, and a relation was found between anxiety control and desire for control. Discussion. No relations were found between symptoms of eating pathology and several dimensions of control. As the inconsistencies in the related literature are mainly due to methodological differences, the current findings could be explained by the limited variance in symptoms of eating pathology. The trend between self-control and symptoms of eating pathology could indicate that people with more symptoms of eating pathology have less self-control. Furthermore, the found relation between desire for control and anxiety control suggests that less anxiety control predicts more desire for control. It would be interesting for future research to further investigate this relation in the context of eating pathology.