The moderating effect of impulsivity on negative affect and body checking

Ecological momentary assessment in eating disorders research: recent findings and promising new directions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is an important tool for clarifying common precipitants and consequences of eating disorder symptoms that might be meaningfully targeted in treatments for these pernicious disorders. This article reviews recent advances in EMA work conducted within clinical eating disorder samples.

RECENT FINDINGS

Published studies from the past 2.5 years can broadly be categorized as involving functional analysis of eating disorder behaviors, examining hypothesized predictors of eating disorder symptoms, or applying novel approaches to EMA data. Examples of the latter category include the use of latent profile analysis with EMA data, integration of neurocognitive (e.g., ambulatory inhibitory control task) or biological indicators (e.g., fMRI, plasma leptin), and examining changes in associations between momentary variables over time through multiwave EMA data collection.

SUMMARY

EMA studies in eating disorders have advanced significantly in recent years, with findings demonstrating strong support for the emotion regulation function of eating disorder behaviors and momentary predictors of distinct eating disorder symptoms. The use of novel statistical and data collection approaches represent exciting areas of growth, with likely implications for intervention approaches, including those that utilize ambulatory technology to deliver treatment.

Body Checking bei Frauen mit hohen und niedrigen Figur- und Gewichtssorgen

Zusammenfassung. Theoretischer Hintergrund: Gemäß Theorien zu Essstörungen ist die Aufrechterhaltung von Body Checking (BC)-Verhalten mit zwei divergierenden kognitiv-affektiven Prozessen assoziiert, d. h. Anstieg an Arousal versus Abnahme negativer emotionaler Valenz. Fragestellung: Ziel ist die Replikation einer Online-Studie zur Untersuchung, ob BC mit beiden postulierten Prozessen einhergeht und welche Relevanz die subjektive Attraktivität der kontrollierten Körperpartien hierbei hat. Methode: 125 Frauen mit hohen versus niedrigen Figur- und Gewichtssorgen schätzten ihr Level an Arousal und negativer emotionaler Valenz in erinnerten BC-Episoden der subjektiv unattraktivsten und attraktivsten Körperpartien ein. Ergebnisse: Nur bei Frauen mit hohen Figur- und Gewichtssorgen in BC-Episoden der subjektiv unattraktivsten Körperpartien traten sowohl ein Anstieg an Arousal als auch eine Abnahme negativer emotionaler Valenz ein. Schlussfolgerungen: Beide postulierten Prozesse wurden nachgewiesen.

From Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to Ecological Momentary Intervention (EMI): Past and Future Directions for Ambulatory Assessment and Interventions in Eating Disorders

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Ambulatory assessment methods, including ecological momentary assessment (EMA), have often been used in eating disorders (EDs) to assess the type, frequency, and temporal sequencing of ED symptoms occurring in naturalistic environments. Relatedly, growing research in EDs has explored the utility of ecological momentary interventions (EMIs) to target ED symptoms. The aims of the present review were to (1) synthesize recent literature pertaining to ambulatory assessment/EMA and EMI in EDs, and (2) identify relevant limitations and future directions in these domains.

RECENT FINDINGS

With respect to ambulatory assessment and EMA, there has been substantial growth in the expansion of constructs assessed with EMA, the exploration of state- vs. trait-level processes, integration of objective and passive assessment approaches, and consideration of methodological issues. The EMI literature in EDs also continues to grow, though most of the recent research focuses on mobile health (mHealth) technologies with relatively minimal EMI components that adapt to momentary contextual information. Despite these encouraging advances, there remain several promising areas of ambulatory assessment research and clinical applications in EDs going forward. These include integration of passive data collection, use of EMA in treatment evaluation and design, evaluation of dynamic system processes, inclusion of diverse samples, and development and evaluation of adaptive, tailored EMIs such as just-in-time adaptive interventions. While much remains to be learned in each of these domains, the continual growth in mobile technology has potential to facilitate and refine our understanding of the nature of ED psychopathology and ultimately improve intervention approaches.