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Couple dissatisfaction and eating profile: A mediation effect of coping style

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Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Individuals’ ways of coping with psychological stress have often been associated with body weight regulation through their impact on eating behaviours. In particular, emotion-oriented and distraction-oriented coping styles have been steadily related to disordered eating. Couple dissatisfaction may be experienced as an important psychological stressor and could therefore affect eating behaviours through the use of inadequate coping strategies. The study proposes 1) to compare women reporting a low vs a high level of couple satisfaction, and 2) to test mediational models including couple satisfaction, coping styles, and eating variables. Analyses were performed among 65 overweight/obese premenopausal women who reported being weight-preoccupied. Women exhibiting couple dissatisfaction (34.8%) showed a higher level of EDE-Q restraint, more intense concerns about eating and shape, a higher level of disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger and endorsed more often a distraction-oriented coping style, independently of their body weight. Furthermore, distraction-oriented coping style seemed to be a valid mediator of the relation between couple dissatisfaction and eating behaviours. Since non-normative eating behaviours, namely disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger, have been particularly linked to a higher body weight status, it is relevant to extend the scope of interest to more distal contributing factors, such as couple dissatisfaction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Pavillon F-A.-Savard, Laval University, 2325, rue des Bibliothèques, local 1116, Quebec, (QC), Canada, G1V 0A6

    M. -P. Gagnon-Girouard PhD, C. Gagnon & C. Bégin

  2. Institute of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods, Laval University, Québec, (QC), Canada, G1V 0A6

    V. Provencher & S. Lemieux

  3. Division of Kinesiology, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Laval University, Québec, (QC), Canada, G1K 7P4

    A. Tremblay

  4. Eating Disorders Treatment Program, PITCA-CHUQ, Centre hospitalier Universitaire de Québec- CHUL, Sainte-Foy (Québec), G1V 4G2, Canada

    S. Boivin

Authors
  1. M. -P. Gagnon-Girouard PhD
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  2. C. Gagnon
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  3. C. Bégin
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  4. V. Provencher
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  5. A. Tremblay
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  6. S. Boivin
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  7. S. Lemieux
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Correspondence to M. -P. Gagnon-Girouard PhD.

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Gagnon-Girouard, M.P., Gagnon, C., Bégin, C. et al. Couple dissatisfaction and eating profile: A mediation effect of coping style. Eat Weight Disord 15, e240–e246 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325305

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325305

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