Cited by 42Eating Disorders and BehaviorsPsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsNutrition, Health and Food Behavior

Childhood trauma and disordered eating: Exploring the role of alexithymia and beliefs about emotions

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Strodl, Esben, Wylie, Lauren·2020·Appetite

Abstract

Although often perceived as non-threatening, disordered eating poses a significant risk to physical and psychological wellbeing. Given the modest effectiveness of current interventions, there is a need to identify specific psychological targets for treatment. One risk factor that has long been liked to eating issues is childhood trauma. The present study aimed to clarify the associations between five distinct forms of trauma and three disordered eating behaviours (Cognitive Restraint, Uncontrolled Eating, and Emotional Eating). In addition, it aimed to determine the role of alexithymia and beliefs about emotions in this association. Three hundred and thirty-two participants from the Australian community completed an online questionnaire measuring alexithymia, beliefs about emotions, disordered eating, and childhood trauma. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine total effects between independent forms of childhood trauma and eating behaviours, followed by bootstrapped confidence intervals to delineate indirect effects. A significant direct association was evidenced between Childhood Emotional Abuse and Cognitive Restraint, in addition to Childhood Sexual Abuse and Emotional Eating. Numerous indirect effects were detected involving the beliefs that emotions are 'Overwhelming and Uncontrollable' and 'Damaging'. Findings indicated that experiences of childhood trauma were associated with disordered eating behaviours through the detection of significant total and/or indirect effects. However, effect sizes of indirect effects (involving beliefs about emotions) were small, suggesting that there are additional factors involved. Further longitudinal research is necessary to determine the causal direction of these findings.

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  1. Hayes, A. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
  2. World Health Organization. (2004). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines 2 nd Edition. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Authors
Strodl, E., & Wylie, L.
Affiliations
Queensland University of Technology (AU)
Corresponding author
Strodl, Esben
Venue
Appetite
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-11
Volume
154
Pages
104802
ISSN
0195-6663 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3044264431
Cited by
42
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 2
FWCI
1.90
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Appetite (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
childhood trauma, disordered eating, alexithymia, beliefs about emotions, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, cognitive restraint, uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, indirect effects, psychological risk factors
MeSH terms
Affective Symptoms, Feeding and Eating Disorders, Australia, Emotions, Humans, Surveys and Questionnaires

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