TY - JOUR
T1 - Associations among alexithymia, disordered eating, and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking adolescent military dependents at risk for adult binge-eating disorder and obesity
AU - Rice, Alexander
AU - Lavender, Jason M.
AU - Shank, Lisa M.
AU - Higgins Neyland, M. K.
AU - Markos, Bethelhem
AU - Repke, Hannah
AU - Haynes, Hannah
AU - Gallagher-Teske, Julia
AU - Schvey, Natasha A.
AU - Sbrocco, Tracy
AU - Wilfley, Denise E.
AU - Ford, Brian
AU - Ford, Caitlin B.
AU - Jorgensen, Sarah
AU - Yanovski, Jack A.
AU - Haigney, Mark
AU - Klein, David A.
AU - Quinlan, Jeffrey
AU - Tanofsky-Kraff, Marian
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided by NIDDK 1R01DK104115 to M. Tanofsky-Kraff and the Defense Health Agency, MED 83-10180 to M. Haigney. J. A. Yanovski is supported by the Intramural Research Program, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, ZIA-HD-00641. The funding sources had no role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of the data, writing the manuscript, or the decision to submit the paper for publication.
Funding Information:
D. Klein, B. Ford, and C. Ford are Commissioned Officers in the United States (U.S.) Air Force or Navy. The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the authors and are not to be construed as reflecting the views of USU, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, or the U.S. Department of Defense.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Purpose: Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one’s feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population. Methods: We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview. Results: A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant. Conclusion: Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors. Level of evidence: Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.
AB - Purpose: Evidence suggests that difficulties identifying and describing one’s feelings, core components of alexithymia, are associated with attitudinal and behavioral symptoms of disordered eating; depressive symptoms also may underlie these associations. Specifically, research indicates that alexithymia is positively related to depressive symptoms, which in turn may promote both disordered-eating attitudes and certain disinhibited-eating behaviors (e.g., emotional eating). Findings also suggest that military-dependent youth with high weight may exhibit elevated depressive symptoms and disordered eating. As such, understanding associations among alexithymia, depressive symptoms, and disordered eating is particularly relevant for this vulnerable population. Methods: We examined 149 adolescent military dependents (14.4 ± 1.6y; 55.0% female; 20.0% non-Hispanic Black; BMIz: 1.9 ± 0.4) at high risk for binge-eating disorder and obesity in adulthood. Participants completed questionnaires assessing two components of alexithymia (difficulty identifying feelings [DIF] and difficulty describing feelings [DDF]), depressive symptoms, emotional eating, and trait anxiety; disordered-eating attitudes were assessed via semi-structured interview. Results: A series of regression-based models examined indirect relationships of DIF and DDF with disordered-eating attitudes and emotional eating through depressive symptoms. Bootstrapped 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant indirect path from each of the alexithymia components to disordered-eating attitudes via depressive symptoms; indirect paths to emotional eating were non-significant. Conclusion: Results support the salience of depressive symptoms in the relationship between alexithymia and disordered-eating attitudes. Future research should utilize prospective designs and explore direct and indirect associations of alexithymia with other disordered-eating behaviors. Level of evidence: Level III, evidence obtained from a well-designed cohort study.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Alexithymia
KW - Depression
KW - Disordered eating
KW - Emotional eating
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134492302&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z
DO - 10.1007/s40519-022-01429-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 35852767
AN - SCOPUS:85134492302
SN - 1124-4909
VL - 27
SP - 3083
EP - 3093
JO - Eating and Weight Disorders
JF - Eating and Weight Disorders
IS - 8
ER -