Maintenance of binge eating through negative mood: A naturalistic comparison of binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa

Objective: To examine negative mood as a proximal antecedent and reinforcing condition of binge eating in binge eating disorder (BED) and bulimia nervosa (BN). Method: Using an ecological momentary assessment design, 20 women with BED, 20 women with BN, and 20 nonclinical control women were recruited from the community, provided with a portable minicomputer, and asked to rate their mood and list their thoughts at randomly‐generated beep sounds and before, during, and after episodes of eating. Results: In both eating disorder groups mood before binge eating was more negative than before regular eating and at random assessment. Binge eating was followed by a deterioration of mood. The BED group revealed less antecedent negative mood than the BN group and less concomitant negative cognitions about food/eating and stress. Conclusion: Affect regulation difficulties likely lead to binge eating in both disorders, but binge eating may not be effective for regulating overall mood. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2007.