The mediating effect of emotional eating in the relationship between aggression and eating attitudes

Abstract

Aims: Negative emotions and thoughts are known to be associated with eating problems. In recent years, strong relationships have been established between disordered eating attitudes and aggression, which are important in the growth of increasing eating disorders. This article examines the mediatory role of emotional eating in the relationship between aggression and disordered eating attitudes in adult individuals. Methods: The study included 293 participants, including 70 males and 223 females, accessed through a convenience sampling method. In the study, participants completed the Demographic Information Form, the Eating Attitude Test, the Buss-Perry Aggression Scale, and the Turkish Emotional Eating Scale. Results: Participants with disordered eating attitudes and emotional eating were found to have significantly higher average aggression scores than participants with healthy eating attitudes and without emotional eating. There has been a positive significant relationship between hostility and emotional eating and between hostility and disordered eating attitudes. The results of the structural equation model showed that among the types of aggression, only hostility and all disordered eating attitudes (preoccupation with eating, restriction, social pressure) played an instrumental role in the relationship. Conclusion: Hostility and emotional eating behavior should be addressed in different preventive studies and intervention programs in which disordered eating attitudes seem in the fields of both mental health and health sciences.