Abstract
Background: Greater vulnerability to negative emotions appears associated with the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). A systematic review of psychophysiological studies using emotion-eliciting film clips reveals that there are no studies examining the effect of standardized validated film clips on psychophysiological response across a range of EDs.Methods: Using standardized validated film clips without ED-specific content, the present study examined self-reported emotions and psychophysiological responses of women with Binge-Eating Disorder (BED; n = 57), Anorexia Nervosa (AN; n = 16), Bulimia Nervosa (BN; n = 34), and Healthy Controls (HCs; n = 26) at Baseline, during Neutral, Sad, Happy, and Fear-inducing film clips, and at Recovery.Results: Throughout the protocol, the ED groups reported significantly greater sadness and anxiety than HCs. Additionally, the AN group reported more fear, the BED group more frustration, and the BED and BN groups more tension than HCs. Compared to HCs, the BED group reported stronger urges to binge throughout the protocol, whereas BN group reported stronger urges to binge relative to the HC group only at Baseline and Recovery. The BN and BED groups experienced decreased urges to binge during all film clips compared to Baseline. Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia levels were significantly lower in the BED group compared to HCs and the BN group throughout the protocol.Discussion: Standardized validated film clips can be used to elicit expected self-reported emotion and skin conductance responses in ED groups, although individuals with EDs compared HCs report greater negative emotions. Interestingly, film clips appeared to reduce urges to binge in binge-eating groups.
Highlights
Multiple theories have pointed to negative affect as a trigger for engagement in disordered eating
We found that individuals with eating disorder (ED) exhibited more negative emotions than Healthy Controls (HCs) throughout the protocol
Both the Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge-eating Disorder (BED) groups had higher urges to binge at Baseline compared to the film clip conditions
Summary
Multiple theories have pointed to negative affect as a trigger for engagement in disordered eating. In response to negative affect, models suggest that eating disorder behaviors, such as binge-eating or restriction, may serve as maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (Heatherton and Baumeister, 1991; Polivy et al, 1994; Hohlstein et al, 1998; Corstorphine, 2006; Haedt-Matt and Keel, 2011; Gross and Jazaieri, 2014). There are limitations in the research regarding our understanding of emotional processing in eating disorder (ED) samples. In order to address the limitations of past research methods, Gross and Levenson (1995) and other research teams (Schaefer et al, 2010) validated films clips designed to elicit discrete emotions in a time-efficient, dynamic, and ecologically valid manner. Greater vulnerability to negative emotions appears associated with the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). A systematic review of psychophysiological studies using emotion-eliciting film clips reveals that there are no studies examining the effect of standardized validated film clips on psychophysiological response across a range of EDs
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