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Emotion dysregulation, dissociation and body dissatisfaction mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and ED symptoms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

L. Lev-Ari ,
A. Zohar  and
R. Bachner Melman
L. Lev-Ari*
Affiliation:
Ruppin Academic Center, The Lior Tsfaty Center For Suicide And Mental Pain Studies, Emek Hefer, Israel
A. Zohar
Affiliation:
Ruppin Academic Center, Clinical Psychology, Emek Hefer, Israel
R. Bachner Melman
Affiliation:
Ruppin Academic Center, Clinical Psychology, Emek Hefer, Israel
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The current study tests the relationship between eating disorder (ED) symptoms and trauma exposure. The mechanisms via which trauma is related to ED symptoms have not been sufficiently examined. This study examines the complex role of dissociation and emotional dysregulation in the context of trauma, BMI, ED symptoms and body dissatisfaction (BD).

Objectives

We hypothesized that dissociation and emotional dysregulation would mediate the relationship between trauma exposure and ED symptoms / BD. We further hypothesized that BMI would play a moderating role in this association.

Methods

A community sample of 229 (16.2% male) participants, with a mean age of 29.08±10.68 reported online on traumatic events (Life Events Checklist), dissociation (Dissociative Experiences Scale – II), emotional dysregulation (Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale), ED symptoms (Eating Disorders Examination – Questionnaire) and BD (Figure Rating Scale).

Results

Participants reported experiencing a mean of 2.87±2.27 traumatic events, with a relatively high percentage (˜86%) reporting at least one. The most commonly reported traumatic events were transportation accidents and physical assault. Although frequency of traumatic events did not directly predict ED symptoms, BMI, dissociation, emotional dysregulation and BD did. An SEM model showed that traumatic events predicted ED symptoms indirectly through dissociation, emotional dysregulation and BMI. Dissociation and emotional dysregulation predicted ED symptoms directly. BMI also moderated the association between traumatic events and both ED symptoms and BD.

Conclusions

Therapists treating patients with high BMI or obesity should be aware of these relationships and investigate the possibility that trauma and/or PTSD may underlie the presenting disordered eating or eating disorder.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Eating disorder symptomsEmotion dysregulationDissociationTrauma
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S577 - S578
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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