Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward Physical Appearance among Recurrent and Non-Binge Eating College Women

Research has found that among individuals who binge eat, overvaluation of body weight/shape and internalization of a thin ideal are associated with higher levels of distress and functional impairment. These findings suggest implicit attitudes and beliefs may play an important role in understanding the complex relations between one’s cognitions and subsequent eating behavior; however, much of the research on binge eating has relied on explicit self-report measures which may not accurately reflect the way individuals automatically process body weight/shape information or the meaning one has associated with these characteristics. The present study sought to address this gap in the literature by examining implicit and explicit attitudes toward fatness and thinness among recurrent and non-binge eating college women (N = 52). Implicit attitudes were assessed via the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) using stimuli developed from previous research in disordered eating populations (Parling et al., 2012). Explicit attitudes and psychological characteristics were assessed through self-report measures. All women demonstrated significant implicit pro-thin attitudes toward self and others, regardless of binge eating status, which may be indicative of shared learning history and cultural context promoting a thin ideal. Neither group demonstrated significant implicit anti-fat attitudes. In fact, non-binge eating women demonstrated significant implicit pro-fat attitudes across three of the four IRAP preparations. Between-group differences were significant only for implicit attitudes toward others. Implicit attitudes were not significantly associated with explicit attitudes or psychological characteristics and did not significantly improve prediction of binge eating status or disordered eating behavior (all p \u3e .05). There were discrepancies between implicit and explicit attitudes for both recurrent and non-binge eating women, but not in the hypothesized direction. Results emphasize the complexity of attitudes and difficulties surrounding the assessment of stigmatized behavior. Possible interpretations of these findings and future research directions are discussed

Effects of Goal Type and Reinforcement Type on Self-Reported Domain-Specific Walking Among Inactive Adults: 2×2 Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: WalkIT Arizona was a 2×2 factorial trial examining the effects of goal type (adaptive versus static) and reinforcement type (immediate versus delayed) to increase moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among insufficiently active adults. The 12-month intervention combined mobile health (mHealth) technology with behavioral strategies to test scalable population-health approaches to increasing MVPA. Self-reported physical activity provided domain-specific information to help contextualize the intervention effects. Objective: The aim of this study was to report on the secondary outcomes of self-reported walking for transportation and leisure over the course of the 12-month WalkIT intervention. Methods: A total of 512 participants aged 19 to 60 years (n=330 [64.5%] women; n=425 [83%] Caucasian/white, n=96 [18.8%] Hispanic/Latinx) were randomized into interventions based on type of goals and reinforcements. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire-long form assessed walking for transportation and leisure at baseline, and at 6 months and 12 months of the intervention. Negative binomial hurdle models were used to examine the effects of goal and reinforcement type on (1) odds of reporting any (versus no) walking/week and (2) total reported minutes of walking/week, adjusted for neighborhood walkability and socioeconomic status. Separate analyses were conducted for transportation and leisure walking, using complete cases and multiple imputation. Results: All intervention groups reported increased walking at 12 months relative to baseline. Effects of the intervention differed by domain: a significant three-way goal by reinforcement by time interaction was observed for total minutes of leisure walking/week, whereas time was the only significant factor that contributed to transportation walking. A sensitivity analysis indicated minimal differences between complete case analysis and multiple imputation. Conclusions: This study is the first to report differential effects of adaptive versus static goals for self-reported walking by domain. Results support the premise that individual-level PA interventions are domain- and context-specific and may be helpful in guiding further intervention refinement

Preliminary Evaluation of the Values Tracker:A Two-Item Measure of Engagement in Valued Activities in Those With Chronic Pain

Engagement in valued activities is an important outcome, particularly in treatments that aim to enhance quality of life in those with chronic conditions. The present study describes the initial evaluation of the Values Tracker (VT), a two-item measure of values engagement, in 302 treatment-seeking adults with chronic pain. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the utility of the VT in the statistical prediction of pain-related functioning, after controlling for demographic variables, pain intensity, and pain-related distress. Across analyses, pain intensity accounted for significant variance (range Δ R2 = .06-.09) with pain-related distress adding additional unique variance (range Δ R2 = .07-.19). The VT accounted for additional unique variance (range Δ R2 = .02-.17) for all variables with the exception of physical disability. These findings provide initial support for the utility of the VT in those with chronic pain. Given the VT’s brevity, it may be particularly useful for tracking changes in engagement in values across sessions. </jats:p