The Interplay of Self-Compassion, Loneliness, and Personality in Late Adolescent Eating Disorder Behaviors

Abstract

Abstract Eating disorders are mental illnesses characterized by disturbances in eating and food-related behaviors, as well as disturbances in the experience of weight and shape (Smith et al., 2018). When considering eating disorders, it is important to understand possible influential factors such as self-compassion (i.e., showing empathy towards one’s own misfortunes and being understanding with oneself; Neff, 2003), loneliness (i.e., feeling alone or socially distant from others; Cacioppo et al., 2015), and co-rumination (i.e., dwelling on negative thoughts and feelings with friends in an intense way; Rudiger & Winstead, 2013). Adolescents who exhibit traits such as being female and having perfectionistic tendencies, low self-esteem, and difficulty managing emotions, in combination with societal pressures to be thin, are more vulnerable to disordered eating behaviors (Kreipe & Mou, 2009). This study aimed to examine how psychological factors such as neuroticism, self-compassion, loneliness, and co-rumination were related to eating disorder behaviors in late adolescents (aged 18-22; M = 20.38, SD = 1.36) diagnosed with eating disorders. Participants (N = 37) completed a survey in Qualtrics measuring self-compassion, loneliness, co-rumination, personality, and eating disordered behaviors. Results showed that bulimia-related behaviors did not have a significant relationship with self-compassion, r(35) = .17, p = .321, r2 = .03, and loneliness was not associated with drive for thinness, r(35) = .16, p = .338, r2 = .03, or co-rumination, r(35) = -.06, p = .730, r2 = .004. Neuroticism did not differ between individuals with anorexia nervosa and those without anorexia nervosa, t(35) = 0.33, p = .327 d = .11. It is important to understand how these psychological factors are impacting vulnerable populations due to the increasing rates of eating disorders