Effortful Control Moderates the Association Between Emotional Instability and Binge Eating

Abstract

We hypothesized that (H1) emotional instability would be associated with an increased likelihood of a binge episode, and that (H2a) this relationship would be potentiated among individuals with low cognitive control and (H2b) high behavioral impulsivity. Methods: Participants were 48 community-dwelling adults and college students. Participants completed the stroop task (cognitive control) and stop signal task (behavioral impulsivity), followed by two weeks of Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) examining mood, hunger, and binge eating behavior up to 9 times per day. Results: There was no main effect of emotional instability on the likelihood of a binge outcome (H1 unsupported). Consistent with H2a, participants with lower cognitive control were more likely to binge as emotional instability increased (OR = .9899, p = .006). Counter to H2b, participants with higher behavioral impulsivity (stop signal scores) were less likely to binge as emotional instability increased (OR = .9916, p = .029).