Eating Disorder Symptoms in Adolescents: The Role of Emotional Dysregulation

Abstract

Eating disorders (ED) are highly prevalent among adolescents, yet there is a lack of evidence-based treatments for this group. Emotion dysregulation has been regarded as a transdiagnostic factor present across all EDs. However, there is a gap in the current literature looking at emotion dysregulation as an early predictor of EDs including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED) in adolescence (14 – 15) as well as controlling for factors including maternal postnatal distress (MPD), which has been previously suggested to have a genetical and environmental effect on both constructs. Addressing this gap can aid future research in developing early interventions for EDs through targeting this modifiable risk factor. The current study examined emotion-dysregulation at age 10 – 11 due to the efficacy of emotion dysregulation treatment in this age period. This study investigated this relationship prospectively with nationally representative data from Longitudinal Study of Australian Children at the ages of 0-1, 10-11 and 14-15 (n=2429). Results of the present study suggest that increased emotion dysregulation at 10–11 is significantly associated with symptoms of partial syndrome BED at 14-15, even after controlling for maternal postnatal distress. However, emotion dysregulation was not significantly associated with partial syndrome AN or BN, including after adjusting for MPD. This study indicates that emotion dysregulation can be a potential target for early intervention at 10-11 to reduce the odds of developing BED in adolescence. However, further studies are needed to better understand the role of emotion dysregulation in AN and BN.