Gender differences in the relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating behaviors and attitudes

Authors

Alyssa Lundahl, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Laura C. Wahlstrom, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System Temple
Christa C. Christ, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Scott F. Stoltenberg, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

5-21-2015

Citation

2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Comments

A. Lundahl et al. / Eating Behaviors 18 (2015) 120–124 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2015.05.004

Abstract

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.