The Relationship Between Anger and Other Correlates of Eating Disorders in Women‪.‬

Eating disorders can be defined as persistent disturbances in eating behaviors. Large-scale research has shown that lifetime prevalence of eating disorders are .9-3.5% among women, and .3%-2% among men (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007). There are variations in symptom presentation among ethnic groups, with White Americans typically showing greater incidence than Black or Asian groups (Abbas, Damani, Malik, Button, Aldridge, & Palmer, 2010; Yates, Edman, & Aruguete, 2004). Research has shown strong independent associations between eating disorders, perfectionism, and exercise commitment (e.g., McLaren, Gauvin, & White, 2001). Indeed, perfectionism (Hewitt, Flett, & Ediger, 1995) and exercise (Yates, Edman, Crago, & Crowell, 2001) have been viewed as central, defining features of eating disorders. Fewer studies have examined whether anger directly relates to eating pathology or shows an indirect relationship through its association with other correlates of eating pathology. Our study examines the relationships between anger, perfectionism, exercise, and eating pathology. In particular, we examine whether anger independently predicts exercise commitment, perfectionism, or eating pathology. Anger has been associated with eating disordered symptoms including drive for thinness (Edman, et al., 2005), compulsive/binge eating (Guidi, et al., 2009), and losing control of eating (Milligan, Waller, & Andrews, 2002). Research has supported an association between suppressed anger and eating pathology. In college women, Edman and Yates (2004) showed that discomfort with suppressed anger was positively associated with eating pathology. Likewise, Zaitsoff, Geller, and Srikameswaren (2002) showed that adolescents with eating disordered symptoms were more likely to suppress anger feelings than those without symptoms. Research on clinical populations further supports the connection between eating pathology and suppressed anger. For example, patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa (Miotto, Pollini, Restaneo, Favaretto, & Preti, 2008) show greater suppressed anger than non-clinical controls. Therefore, anger, especially in a suppressed form, has been associated with eating pathology. However, anger is also associated with other correlates of eating disorders (e.g., perfectionism and exercise). It is unclear whether anger independently predicts eating pathology.