French EN, Eneva K, Arlt JM, Yiu A, Chen EY. Negative mood induction effects on problem-solving task in women with eating disorders: a multi-method examination.
J Eat Disord 2022;
10:73. [PMID:
35598002 PMCID:
PMC9123706 DOI:
10.1186/s40337-022-00591-0]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 05/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The effects of negative affect on problem-solving and its psychophysiological correlates are poorly understood in eating disorder populations.
METHODS
This study examined respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance responses of women with Binge Eating Disorder (BED: n = 56), Anorexia Nervosa (AN: n = 12), Bulimia Nervosa (BN: n = 32), and 24 healthy controls (HCs) at baseline, and then during: a negative mood induction task, an adapted Means Ends Problem-Solving (MEPS) task, and recovery. The MEPS task included four interpersonal scenarios: (1) binge-eating as a solution to stress, (2) job loss, (3) rejection by friends, and (4) by a significant other.
RESULTS
We found that individuals with eating disorders reported less positive mood than HCs and individuals with BN and BED reported more negative mood and greater urges to binge than HCs. After a negative mood induction, women with BED provided significantly less effective problem-solving strategies compared to HCs and women with BN for the binge-eating MEPS scenario. Relative to baseline and the negative mood induction, all participants exhibited significantly higher skin conductance measures throughout the MEPS scenarios and recovery. BED showed significantly lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) levels than individuals with BN and HCs throughout the protocol.
CONCLUSIONS
The multimethod findings suggest individuals with BED are likely to have disorder-specific problem-solving difficulties after a negative mood induction.
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