AUTHOR=Davis Caroline , Mackew Laura , Levitan Robert D. , Kaplan Allan S. , Carter Jacqueline C. , Kennedy James L. 

TITLE=Binge Eating Disorder (BED) in Relation to Addictive Behaviors and Personality Risk Factors

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00579

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00579

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>While there is good evidence that binge eating disorder (BED) is linked to higher-than-expected use of a broad range of addictive behaviors, mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. Using a mediation-analytical approach with three age- and gender-matched groups – overweight/obese adults with (<italic>n</italic> = 42) and without (<italic>n</italic> = 104) BED, and normal-weight control participants (<italic>n</italic> = 73) – we tested the hypothesis that adults with BED would engage in more addictive behaviors and have higher scores on a personality-risk index than the two control groups. We also anticipated that the relationship between BED and addictive behaviors would be mediated by a high-risk personality profile. The predicted mediation effect was strongly supported. Contrary to expectation, BED participants did not engage in more addictive behaviors or have higher personality-risk scores than their weight-matched counterparts. However, both overweight/obese groups did have significantly higher scores than the normal-weight group. The relationships among personality risk, elevated body mass index (BMI), and addictive behaviors have important clinical implications, especially for treatments that target psycho-behavioral intervention for compulsive overeating and substance-use disorders.</p>