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Hunger games: Associations between core eating disorder symptoms and responses to rejection by peers during competition
Author(s) -
Schell Sarah E.,
Banica Iulia,
Weinberg Anna,
Racine Sarah E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/eat.23487
Subject(s) - psychology , binge eating , interpersonal communication , psychological intervention , flexibility (engineering) , social rejection , clinical psychology , interpersonal relationship , eating disorders , developmental psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , social relation , statistics , mathematics
Objective Individuals with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are sensitive to social threat and report maladaptive interpersonal styles that may contribute to and exacerbate negative evaluation from others. Research in this area has relied primarily on self‐report. The current study examined associations between behavioral responses to social threat and core ED symptoms using a behavioral paradigm. Based on previous findings that individuals with binge‐eating report being more reactive and confrontational, whereas individuals with dietary restriction tend to be more submissive and avoidant of conflict, we hypothesized that binge eating would be associated with a greater tendency to retaliate against rejection perpetrators, whereas dietary restriction would be associated with a lower tendency to retaliate when rejected. Method Undergraduate women ( N = 132) completed a self‐report measure of ED symptoms and participated in an online “Survivor”‐type game in which they voted to either accept or reject computerized coplayers, while also receiving acceptance or rejection feedback from others. Results Neither ED symptom was associated with how often participants retaliated against coplayers who rejected them. However, dietary restriction was related to more rejection votes overall (i.e., the tendency to reject others regardless of how others voted). Discussion Findings suggest that individuals with dietary restriction may rely on a maladaptive defensive strategy aimed at pre‐empting rejection, or alternatively, have difficulty shifting from habitual self‐isolating behavior that results from over‐involvement with restricting symptoms. Interventions targeting hypersensitivity to social threat or interpersonal flexibility may help reduce interpersonal stress and mitigate its impact on restricting symptoms.