Abstract
BackgroundDespite the growing literature about recovery from eating disorders (EDs), it is still unknown if women who report being recovered from EDs present with differing implicit attitudes about high-fat (vs. low-fat) food relative to women who report having a current ED and women who report never having had an ED.MethodsFemale volunteers (N = 2,785) to the Project Implicit Mental Health (PIMH) website (https://implicit.harvard.edu/) were divided into three ED groups: current ED (n = 335), prior ED (n = 393), and healthy controls (n = 1,843). Participants completed, between 2016 and 2017, a background questionnaire, together with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), measuring implicit associations between high-fat (vs. low-fat) food and shame (vs. acceptableness). Linear regression models were conducted to examine cross-sectional differences between groups.ResultsWomen with prior EDs had stronger implicit associations relative to healthy controls (p = 0.041) and similar implicit associations relative to women with current EDs (p = 0.424).DiscussionThe implicit association between high-fat food and shame may not diminish over time among women with EDs. Future longitudinal studies are warranted to clarify whether an experience of EDs may leave a “scar,” manifested in specific implicit associations, that may potentially lead to recurrence after remission.
Highlights
Eating disorders (EDs) are complex psychiatric conditions that are often associated with a chronic course and a long recovery process (Wagner et al, 2006; Tomba et al, 2019)
Many recovered individuals continue to struggle with various psychological/psychiatric conditions (Wagner et al, 2006) that persist for many years after recovery (Bardone-Cone et al, 2010), and many characteristics that are prevalent among currently ill patients (Eshkevari et al, 2014) improve only slightly after recovery, while remaining somewhat impaired relative to healthy controls (Yackobovitch-Gavan et al, 2009; Bardone-Cone et al, 2010)
Data indicated that women with prior EDs had stronger implicit associations of high-fat food and shame relative to healthy controls and similar implicit associations of high-fat food and shame relative to women with current EDs
Summary
Despite the growing literature about recovery from eating disorders (EDs), it is still unknown if women who report being recovered from EDs present with differing implicit attitudes about high-fat (vs low-fat) food relative to women who report having a current ED and women who report never having had an ED
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