Open AccessExamining the Relationship Between Pain Intensity and Emotional Eating Among Latinos in a Federally Qualified Health Center: The Role of Anxiety Sensitivity
Author(s) -
Brooke Y. Kauffman,
Andrew H. Rogers,
Jafar Bakhshaie,
Nubia A. Mayorga,
Monica Garza,
Melissa Ochoa-Perez,
Chad Lemaire,
Michael J. Zvolensky
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of immigrant and minority health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.758
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1557-1920
pISSN - 1557-1912
DOI - 10.1007/s10903-019-00862-0
Subject(s) - anxiety sensitivity , anxiety , psychology , clinical psychology , emotional eating , psychiatry , medicine , eating behavior , obesity
There is limited understanding of pain and its relationship to emotional eating among Latinos as well as knowledge about potential mechanisms that may underlie their association. We explored whether anxiety sensitivity (fear of the negative consequences of anxiety) explained the relation between pain intensity and emotional eating among a sample of Latinos. Participants were 79 (87.3% female; M age = 42.04, SD = 12.01) predominately female Latino attendees of a Federally Qualified Health Center. As hypothesized, results indicated that pain intensity yielded a significant indirect effect through anxiety sensitivity for emotional eating. Alternative models wherein anxiety sensitivity served as the predictor and pain intensity as the indirect effect were also significant. Such novel data highlight the potential bi-directional relationship between pain intensity and anxiety sensitivity in terms of emotional eating. Overall, pain intensity and anxiety sensitivity may serve as mechanisms that underlie emotional eating among Latino adults.