Poster #220 - Anxious Rejection Sensitivity and Problem Eating Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Skin Conductance Reactivity

• In Event: 1-169 - Poster Session 04
  In Poster Session: PS 04 Section - Social Relationships

Integrative Statement

Anxious rejection sensitivity, defined as the tendency to anxiously expect peer rejection or exclusion, is related to maladjustment (e.g., depression, loneliness) (London et al., 2007). However, research on the association between rejection sensitivity and problem eating behaviors is in its infancy, despite evidence that other indices of maladaptive interpersonal functioning, such as social anxiety and interpersonal distrust, are related to disordered eating (i.e., bulimic behaviors, oral control, dieting concerns; Arcelus et al., 2013). As not all individuals with interpersonal difficulties develop disordered eating patterns, it is important to identify risk factors that might increase risk for these difficulties among youth high in anxious rejection sensitivity. An emerging body of research suggests that blunted physiological stress reactivity (e.g., low cortisol, low salivary alpha amylase, low heart rate) is implicated in disordered eating behaviors (Ginty et al., 2011; Het et al., 2014). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether anxious rejection sensitivity was associated with multiple facets of problem eating behaviors in a non-clinical sample of pre-adolescents, and whether this effect was stronger among youth with physiological risk (i.e., blunted skin conductance reactivity, SCL-R; reflecting sympathetic nervous system activity).
99 children (Mage = 10.47 years; 50% female) reported on their anxious rejection sensitivity (Ayduk et al., 2000) and their problem eating behaviors (i.e., bulimia, oral control, and dieting concerns; Maloney et al., 1989). SCL-R was measured in response to a standardized assessment of peer stress (Cyberball; Williams et al., 2012). Regression analyses were run in which anxious rejection sensitivity, SCL-R, and their interaction predicted disordered eating behaviors (dieting, oral control, and bulimia, respectively). Anxious rejection sensitivity was not associated with oral control (overall model R2 = .03, F[3, 86] = .92, p = .44); but was positively associated with both bulimia problems and dieting concerns (Table 1). Furthermore, the association between anxious rejection sensitivity and bulimia problems was moderated by SCL-R; simple slope analyses indicated that the positive relationship between anxious rejection sensitivity and problem eating behaviors was stronger at low, as compared to high, SCL-R (Figure 1).
Overall, findings suggest that anxious rejection sensitivity is related to increased risk for disordered eating. Interestingly, effects emerged for dieting concern and bulimia behaviors, but not oral control, suggesting that effects may differ across specific disordered eating behaviors. These findings align with research indicating that heightened feelings of stress may contribute to the development of bulimic behaviors (i.e., binges; Ginty et al., 2012), and suggest that similar processes may be evident for dieting behaviors as well. Furthermore, findings contribute to the growing literature indicating that blunted physiological stress responses are associated with disordered eating (e.g., Ginty et al., 2012; Lo Sauro et al., 2008), and extend this work by documenting how cognitive and physiological risk factors interact in the prediction of bulimia behaviors. Results highlight potential avenues for prevention and intervention work; for instance, targeting socially instigated anxieties, such as anxious rejection sensitivity, may be useful in the treatment of disordered eating behaviors, particularly among youth with physiological risk.

Authors

• Emily Kunsman, Student- University of Vermont
  Presenting Author

• Dianna K Murray-Close, University of Vermont
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nicole L Breslend, University of Vermont
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alexandra Sullivan, University of Vermont
  Non-Presenting Author