Gender differences in the pathway of childhood trauma, impulsivity and adult eating behaviour: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: The current cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between childhood trauma, impulsivity, binge eating symptoms, and body mass index (BMI) in a sample of males and females. We also aimed to investigate the indirect association of childhood trauma with binge eating through impulsivity while controlling for BMI. Method: Participants were 410 young adults (mean age = 20.9 years, range 18–24; female = 73.9%) who completed online measures of childhood trauma, impulsivity, binge eating symptoms, and self-reported height and weight. Mediation models were tested using multi-group structural equation modelling. Results: Childhood trauma and impulsivity were associated with an increased risk of binge eating symptoms in females but not males, corroborating previous studies. There was a significant difference in the binge eating symptoms index between sexes, but not regarding the index of childhood trauma and impulsivity. Additionally, adverse childhood experiences were associated with impulsivity and the association of childhood trauma with binge eating was mediated by impulsivity in the female sample. Conclusions: Our results suggest sex-dependent patterns and risk factors that may impact binge eating symptoms. The implications of our results suggest that impulsivity might be a vulnerability factor for binge eating, especially for females.