تفاوت های جنسیتی در رابطه با تکانشگری و رفتارها و نگرش اختلال تغذیه ای

Objective We investigated relationships among gender, impulsivity and disordered eating in healthy college students. Method Participants (N = 1223) were healthy, undergraduate men (28.5%) and women (71.5%), who completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale — Version 11 (BIS-11) and a four-factor version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-16). Results As predicted, mean scores on all four EAT-16 factors were significantly higher for women than for men. Attentional impulsivity was related to poorer self-perception of body shape, more dieting, and a greater preoccupation with food for the sample as a whole. Moreover, motor impulsivity was related to poorer self-perceptions of body shape and a greater preoccupation with food. However, no gender differences emerged in the relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating attitudes. Discussion This study elucidates the role of impulsivity in disordered eating behaviors among non-clinical college students. For both women and men, attentional and motor impulsivity were related to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Overall, these findings suggest that different facets of impulsivity are related to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in a non-clinical college population.

Disordered eating behaviors are highly prevalent among college-aged individuals, placing them at-risk for eating disorders (Krahn, Kurth, Gomberg, & Drewnowski, 2005). It is therefore important to understand which factors contribute to the likelihood of developing disordered eating behaviors. One such risk factor may be impulsivity, a multi-faceted trait marked by motor, non-planning, and attentional impulsiveness (Depue & Collins, 1999). Much research with clinical populations implicates impulsivity in eating disordered behaviors (e.g., Beck et al., 2009, Casper et al., 1992 and Engel et al., 2005), though there are exceptions (e.g., Wonderlich, Connolly, & Stice, 2004). Most research with clinical populations suggests that individuals classified with binge eating disorder (BED) traits are more likely to be impulsive than those classified as exhibiting anorexia nervosa (AN) traits (Beck et al., 2009, Casper et al., 1992 and Claes et al., 2002). However, others have found elevated levels of impulsivity among all eating disordered subtypes, suggesting that impulsivity is a common underlying factor associated with disordered eating, in general (Claes, Robinson, Muehlenkamp, Vandereycken, & Bijttebier, 2010). Though research with clinical populations is important, there is a need for greater focus on sub- and non-clinical populations in order to identify characteristics that place individuals at-risk and to prevent clinical eating disorders from developing. If impulsivity can be regarded as a risk factor for clinical eating disorders, a relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating behaviors should be found and replicated in non-clinical populations. Moreover, sub-threshold eating problems often persist beyond college and into later adulthood, providing further support for examining potential risk factors in college populations (Arriaza & Mann, 2001). To date, the role of impulsivity in disordered eating behaviors in sub- or non-clinical populations is not well-established. Lyke and Spinella (2004) found significant correlations between motor and attentional impulsivity and disinhibited eating, as well as between attentional impulsivity and feelings of hunger. Others have also found general impulsive traits to relate to disordered eating behaviors and thoughts in non-clinical populations (Cooper et al., 2014, Fischer et al., 2003, Guerrieri et al., 2007 and Leitch et al., 2013), though again, there are exceptions (e.g., Cooley, Toray, Valdez, & Tee, 2007). Importantly, only one study examining impulsivity and eating behaviors in non-clinical populations included men (Lyke & Spinella, 2004), and this study did not examine gender differences. Though disordered eating behaviors and attitudes are more prevalent among women than men throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood (Neumark-Sztainer, Wall, Larson, Eisenberg, & Loth, 2011), this does not imply that men are immune to developing disordered eating behaviors (Hoerr, Bokram, Lugo, Bivins, & Keast, 2002). However, the manner in which men and women manifest disordered eating behaviors differs. For example, women are more likely to report dieting or purging than men, but may be equally (or even less) likely than men to report exercising excessively or binging (Anderson and Bulik, 2004, Grucza et al., 2007, Guidi et al., 2009 and Striegel‐Moore et al., 2009). Another study found that women experienced disordered eating at greater rates, but that men's disordered eating was more persistent over time (Keel, Baxter, Heatherton, & Joiner, 2007). Thus, while research is beginning to elucidate gender differences in disordered eating behaviors, a thorough examination of gender disparities in disordered eating behaviors and attitudes among a general undergraduate population is currently lacking. Moreover, there are important gender differences in impulsivity that could further complicate the relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating behaviors. In general, men exhibit more impulsivity than women (Cross, Copping, & Campbell, 2011). For instance, men tend to have a greater difficulty focusing their attention and considering the future (non-planning), and are more apt to sensation-seeking and risk-taking than women (Cross et al., 2011). Given these differences, it is plausible that gender differences may exist in the relationship between impulsivity and eating disordered attitudes and behaviors. The purpose of the current study was to examine gender differences in: (1) disordered eating behaviors and attitudes; and (2) the relationship between impulsivity (i.e., non-planning, attentional, and motor impulsivity) and disordered eating behaviors and attitudes. Regarding the first aim, we hypothesized that men would report disordered eating behaviors and attitudes, though to a lesser degree than women. Regarding the second aim, we hypothesized that greater impulsivity (i.e., non-planning, attentional, and motor) would be associated with poorer self-perception of body shape and greater dieting, food preoccupation, and awareness of food contents among both men and women. We had no priori hypotheses regarding gender differences in these relationships, but rather, sought to describe any gender differences that emerged.