Does Social Support Influence Bulimic Behaviors through its Impact on Cognitive Appraisal

Social support is one of many interpersonal functions that is impaired among individuals with bulimia nervosa. The buffering hypothesis of social support posits that social support shields the deleterious impact of stress on bulimic behaviors. However, the specific mechanism by which social support protects against the negative impact of stress on bulimic symptoms remains to be clarified. To investigate this mechanism, two studies examined the potential role of cognitive appraisal as a mediator in the relationship between social support and bulimic behaviors among undergraduate students. Study 1 was a longitudinal, naturalistic study in which participants completed online surveys at two assessment points that were four weeks apart. Bootstrap analyses revealed that cognitive appraisal did not mediate the relationship between perceived social support and bulimic behaviors. Exploratory analyses demonstrated that perceived stress, a construct parallel to cognitive appraisal with the emotional experiences taken into consideration, acted as a mediator in this relationship. Perceived social support appeared to be associated with decrease future bulimic behaviors through lowered stress perception. Study 2 was an experimental study that examined the role of cognitive appraisal in the relationship between social support and food consumption, which was used as a laboratory analogue of binge eating. Female participants were randomly assigned into one of two groups: with or without social support available. Stress was induced with a speech task, followed by a bogus taste task. Results demonstrated that perceived stress, instead of cognitive appraisal mediated the relationship between subjective ratings of the experimenter?s supportiveness and calories consumed. Unexpectedly, perceived supportiveness was associated with more caloric consumption through lower stress perception among individuals with high restraint. These studies extended the existing literature by examining perceived social support, perceived stress, and bulimic behaviors in a mediation model. Findings have theoretical and clinical implications for the role of social support in bulimic behaviors and the stress-disordered eating relationship. For example, stress does not always predict binge eating. Moreover, findings suggest the importance of social support in stress management and eating disorder treatments as well as the potential for emotional interventions for eating disorders.Graduate School and Interdisciplinary Studies. North Dakota State UniversityDepartment of Psychology. North Dakota State Universit

Does Social Support Influence Bulimic Behaviors through its Impact on Cognitive Appraisal

Social support is one of many interpersonal functions that is impaired among individuals with bulimia nervosa. The buffering hypothesis of social support posits that social support shields the deleterious impact of stress on bulimic behaviors. However, the specific mechanism by which social support protects against the negative impact of stress on bulimic symptoms remains to be clarified. To investigate this mechanism, two studies examined the potential role of cognitive appraisal as a mediator in the relationship between social support and bulimic behaviors among undergraduate students. Study 1 was a longitudinal, naturalistic study in which participants completed online surveys at two assessment points that were four weeks apart. Bootstrap analyses revealed that cognitive appraisal did not mediate the relationship between perceived social support and bulimic behaviors. Exploratory analyses demonstrated that perceived stress, a construct parallel to cognitive appraisal with the emotional experiences taken into consideration, acted as a mediator in this relationship. Perceived social support appeared to be associated with decrease future bulimic behaviors through lowered stress perception. Study 2 was an experimental study that examined the role of cognitive appraisal in the relationship between social support and food consumption, which was used as a laboratory analogue of binge eating. Female participants were randomly assigned into one of two groups: with or without social support available. Stress was induced with a speech task, followed by a bogus taste task. Results demonstrated that perceived stress, instead of cognitive appraisal mediated the relationship between subjective ratings of the experimenter’s supportiveness and calories consumed. Unexpectedly, perceived supportiveness was associated with more caloric consumption through lower stress perception among individuals with high restraint. These studies extended the existing literature by examining perceived social support, perceived stress, and bulimic behaviors in a mediation model. Findings have theoretical and clinical implications for the role of social support in bulimic behaviors and the stress-disordered eating relationship. For example, stress does not always predict binge eating. Moreover, findings suggest the importance of social support in stress management and eating disorder treatments as well as the potential for emotional interventions for eating disorders.Graduate School and Interdisciplinary Studies. North Dakota State UniversityDepartment of Psychology. North Dakota State Universit

Does Social Support Influence Bulimic Behaviors through Its Impact on Cognitive Appraisal?

Video summarizing Ph.D. dissertation for a non-specialist audience.Psychological Clinical SciencePsychologyCollege of Science and Mathematic

Factors Associated with Weight Stigma and Suicide Risk

Using the interpersonal theory of suicide, we investigated the relationships between perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, weight stigmatization, emotion dysregulation, disordered eating, and suicide risk

Pet Attachment and the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide

https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000822 Background: Pet ownership is often assumed to have mental health benefits, but the effect of pets on suicide risk has a scant literature. Aims: Using the interpersonal theory of suicide, we examined the relationships between perceived burdensomeness (PB), thwarted belongingness (TB), overall attachment to one’s pet, pet attachment avoidance or anxiety, and suicide risk. Three hypotheses were investigated: 1) higher attachment would be indirectly associated with lower suicide risk via lower TB and lower PB, 2) attachment would be associated with higher suicide risk, as conditioned on attachment avoidance/anxiety, and 3) attachment avoidance/anxiety would be associated with higher suicide risk via higher TB/PB. Method: Undergraduates (N=187) completed surveys and indirect effect and conditional effect analyses were utilized. Results: Overall attachment was associated with lower PB, which was associated with lower suicide risk. The relationship between overall attachment and suicide risk was not conditional upon attachment anxiety/avoidance. Attachment avoidance was associated with increased levels of TB, which was associated with increased suicide risk. Attachment anxiety was associated with increased suicide risk via TB and PB. Limitations: We used a university sample that had limited access to pets. Conclusions: Findings suggest that pet ownership may provide mixed associations with suicide risk

The development and psychometric evaluation of the Perception of Play Questionnaire for older adults

The objective was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Perception of Play Questionnaire among older adults. Item generation, content validation, scale piloting for item validation, and assessment of construct validity were employed to develop the questionnaire. A 17-item Perception of Play Questionnaire was developed. Items described how older adults view play from positive and negative prospective. Satisfactory results were found for content validity. The Cronbach’s alpha was.775. Correlations between perception of play and life satisfaction, happiness, and loneliness were demonstrated with statistical significance (p < 0.05). There were significant difference in multiple linear regression for frailty to Timed Up and Go Test (p < 0.01). The Perception of Play Questionnaire can help to understand how older people view the concept and their acceptance level of play. The data gathered using the questionnaire can aid in planning interventions to improve the health of older people