Moderating Role of Thin-ideal Internalization in the Relationship between Negative Affect and Eating: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

Abstract

Eating has been regarded as a regulatory behavior in coping with negative affect. However, individual differences in the relationship between negative affect and eating behavior remain relatively unexplored. This study aims to investigate this association while examining the role of potential moderators, namely thin-ideal internalization and impulse control difficulties using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology. Female participants (N=72) aged 18 to 29 years completed a 7-day EMA protocol and questionnaires. Daily EMA measures included negative affect (NA) and caloric intake. Hierarchical linear modeling was applied to analyze the data. NA did not significantly predict caloric intake at the within-person level. However, the non-significant association between NA and caloric intake was negatively moderated by thin-ideal internalization on the between-person level. The moderating role of impulse control difficulties was not significant. These findings extend prior research on risk factors of emotional undereating and they highlight the importance of further research. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research have been discussed.