Distinct profiles of university students engaged in food and alcohol disturbance behaviors

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ABSTRACT The present study aimed at exploring the combined effect of risk of eating disorders (ED), alcohol use, physical activity, and social and psychological traits in Food and Alcohol Disturbance (FAD) behaviors. Nine-hundred and seventy-six college students were included in the study. They were then divided into two groups based on the Compensatory Eating and Behaviors in Response to Alcohol Consumption Scale (CEBRACS): students with a FAD positive score and student with a FAD negative score. Both groups of participants were compared on the risk of ED, alcohol and physical activity variables, as well as social and psychological dimensions. A cluster analysis was performed on the FAD positive group to determine distinct subgroups and to explore the involvement of social and psychological dimensions in FAD behaviors. The comparison between FAD and non-FAD students demonstrated a more severe alcohol use, risk of ED, a higher level of impulsivity, anxiety, depression and more drinking motives as well as a lower self-esteem in students engaged in FAD behaviors compared with non-engaged students. The cluster analysis identified four clusters: the asceticism FAD subgroup, the damage control FAD subgroup, the emotional FAD subgroup and the recreational FAD subgroup. Overall, results reveal that FAD should not be considered as a unitary behavior but rather as a more complex pattern involving distinct psychological profiles.