Emotional Eating among Individuals with Concurrent Eating and Substance Use Disorders

Abstract

Emotional eating occurs frequently in individuals with eating disorders and is an overlooked factor within addictions research. The present study identified the relationship between emotional eating, substance use, and eating disorders, and assessed the usefulness of the Emotional Eating Scale (EES) for individuals with concurrent eating disorders (ED) and substance use disorders (SUD). One hundred and ninety three individuals seeking specialized substance use and eating disorder treatment were administered substance use, mental health, and eating disorders measures. Results suggested that emotional eating predicted the ability to resist using drugs in high risk situations and the tendency to be over-absorbed in face of stressful situations. The EES is useful for assessing emotional eating among individuals with concurrent ED and SUD, although it would be improved by the inclusion of more items of positive affect. Emotional eating within populations with concurrent ED and SUD is worthy of further investigation.