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Body-Related Behaviours and Cognitions: Relationship to Eating Psychopathology in Non-Clinical Women and Men

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2011

Caroline Meyer ,
Lauren McPartlan ,
Anthony Rawlinson ,
Jo Bunting  and
Glenn Waller
Caroline Meyer
Affiliation:
Loughborough University and Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK
Lauren McPartlan
Affiliation:
Loughborough University, UK
Anthony Rawlinson
Affiliation:
Loughborough University, UK
Jo Bunting
Affiliation:
Loughborough University, UK
Glenn Waller*
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, UK
*
Reprint requests to Glenn Waller, Vincent Square Clinic, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, Osbert Street, London SW1P 2QU, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background: Eating disturbances and poor body image are maintained by body-related safety behaviours and their associated cognitions. These include body checking, avoidance, comparison and display, which can be seen as safety behaviours, maintaining eating pathology and poor body image. It is not clear from the existing literature whether these behavioural and cognitive patterns are independently related to eating psychopathology. Method: This study of a non-clinical group of women and men (N = 250) explored the association of eating attitudes and behaviours with these four elements of body-related behaviours and cognitions. Results: It was found that each of the four elements had independent associations with eating attitudes and behaviours. Those associations were not explained by anxiety or depression levels. Discussion: Whilst these findings require study within a clinical group, they suggest that all four elements of body-related behaviours and cognitions need to be considered as potential maintaining factors when formulating eating psychopathology and body image disturbance.

Keywords

Body imagebehaviourssafety behaviourseating attitudes
Type
Research Article
Information
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy , Volume 39 , Issue 5 , October 2011 , pp. 591 - 600
Copyright
Copyright © British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2011

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