Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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Eating problems and emotional eating in childhood are associated with eating disorders in adolescence. Eating problems and emotional eating can develop due to problems with mood and stress...Show moreEating problems and emotional eating in childhood are associated with eating disorders in adolescence. Eating problems and emotional eating can develop due to problems with mood and stress regulation or appetite regulation. External factors, such as maternal caregiving, can also play a role. Mood, stress and appetite regulation are regulated by the brain but also by the gut. In recent research, the gut has been linked to depression and anxiety, but more research is needed on its role in eating disorders and their precursors. In this study, we explored the link between two precursors of eating disorders, eating problems and emotional eating, and the gut microbiota as well as the moderating role of maternal caregiving. We analysed longitudinal data from the BIBO (Basale Invloeden op de Baby Ontwikkeling) study of Nijmegen university. The data was used to look at whether clusters of bacteria in infancy predict eating problems at 2.5 and 6 years old and emotional eating at 6 and 14 years old. Furthermore, maternal caregiving was added as a moderator to see its role in the potential relationship between the gut and eating problems and emotional eating. Results revealed that there were no significant differences in eating problems (at 2.5 and 6 years old) and emotional eating (at 6 and 14 years old) between the clusters. Furthermore, there was no moderating effect of maternal caregiving on the relationship between microbiota cluster and eating problems and emotional eating. This study suggests that infant microbiota does not predict eating problems and emotional eating in childhood and adolescence in this sample. However, these findings open new paths for future research; with higher taxonomic resolution rather than clusters of bacteria, larger sample sizes, and finally the addition of measures of relevant variables, such as emotion regulation strategies and measures of parent-child relations, such as attachment and parental feeding practices.Show less
Background: Childhood maltreatment is a serious issue, leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and eating disorder (ED) symptoms. A proposed mediator is intolerance of uncertainty (IU),...Show moreBackground: Childhood maltreatment is a serious issue, leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and eating disorder (ED) symptoms. A proposed mediator is intolerance of uncertainty (IU), composed of inhibitory and prospective IU, which are differentially related to different symptom profiles. Preliminary research shows that inhibitory IU is associated with PTSD symptoms, while prospective IU with ED symptoms. However, these mechanisms have been scarcely studied, and even less so in relation to childhood maltreatment, which the current study aims to do. Methods: This cross-sectional, self-report study used a non-clinical community sample (N = 413), to assess whether inhibitory and prospective IU differentially mediate childhood maltreatment, PTSD and ED symptoms using scores on IUS-12, CTQ-SF, PCL-5, and EDEQ-SF. Two mediation analyses were done with childhood maltreatment as predictor, inhibitory and prospective IU as parallel mediators and PTSD, respectively ED symptoms as outcomes. Results: Childhood maltreatment was significantly positively associated with PTSD and ED symptoms, and both inhibitory and prospective IU. Only inhibitory IU was further significantly positively associated with PTSD and ED symptoms. Thus, inhibitory IU is a partial mediator between childhood maltreatment and both PTSD and ED symptoms, while prospective IU is not, partly supporting our hypotheses. Conclusion: Histories of childhood maltreatment facilitate an attentional bias to threat and fear of uncertainty. Trauma-related symptoms are alleviated through cognitive avoidance and the fear of uncertainty leads to action paralysis. PTSD and ED symptoms therefore develop and are maintained through inhibitory IU. Clinical interventions should tackle this aspect of IU in maltreated populations.Show less
Background: Childhood trauma (CT) has been associated with eating disorder symptoms (EDs) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Particularly, specific BPD features such as affective...Show moreBackground: Childhood trauma (CT) has been associated with eating disorder symptoms (EDs) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Particularly, specific BPD features such as affective instability, impulsivity, dissociation, self-harm, are a frequent consequence of childhood trauma and co-occur with eating disorders. Previous findings suggested that symptoms of BPD could mediate the relationship between CT and EDs. The aim of this self-report study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between childhood trauma and eating disorder symptoms and whether this relationship is partly explained by borderline personality features. Methods: Four hundred and fourteen individuals completed the self-report scales on CT, BPD symptoms and EDs. Using the PROCESS macro tool, it was investigated whether there was a direct effect of CT severity on overall scores of ED symptoms as well as an indirect effect via BPD symptoms. The role of specific features of BPD were analysed in an exploratory manner. Results: Severity of CT significantly predicted EDs symptoms, also after accounting for overall borderline personality symptoms. In addition, there was a significant indirect effect of CT via overall BPD symptoms on EDs. Except for affective instability, indirect effects were found for all BPD features. Conclusion: In the context of previous findings, our results suggested that symptoms of BPD might mediate the relationship between CT and EDs. Given the correlational design of this study that cannot allow causal conclusions, experimental, longitudinal designs should be used in future research to further and deeply understand these associations.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Studies investigating motives for social networking site (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. There is some evidence that readiness to change may be a factor...Show moreStudies investigating motives for social networking site (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. There is some evidence that readiness to change may be a factor related to SNS use patterns in this population. The aim was to investigate the relationships between SNS use, motives behind SNS use, and readiness to change, as well as ED psychopathology. Participants were recruited from ED recovery websites; 103 provided complete data. As hypothesized, ED symptom severity was inversely associated with readiness to change. However, contrary to expectations, SNS use was not associated with ED symptom severity. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggested that if an individual feels less capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions/behaviors about their body/eating, they are more likely to be motivated to use SNSs for the purpose of impressing others and reputation management. The clinical implication is that high Studies investigating motives for social networking site (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. There is some evidence that readiness to change may be a factor related to SNS use patterns in this population. The aim was to investigate the relationships between SNS use, motives behind SNS use, and readiness to change, as well as ED psychopathology. Participants were recruited from ED recovery websites; 103 provided complete data. As hypothesized, ED symptom severity was inversely associated with readiness to change. However, contrary to expectations, SNS use was not associated with ED symptom severity. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggested that if an individual feels less capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions/behaviors about their body/eating, they are more likely to be motivated to use SNSs for the purpose of impressing others and reputation management. The clinical implication is that high amounts of SNS use may not necessarily be harmful for people with EDs or recovering from EDs, whereas using SNSs for the purposes of impression management could potentially be related to being less ready to recover.Show less
