Thesis PlanA (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract: Binge eating disorder (BED) is the most common eating disorder, affecting approximately 2% of men and 3.5% of women. BED has a complex etiology that includes both physical and psychological co-morbidities. Up to 50% of overweight and obese people seeking weight loss treatment have BED. Treatment includes pharmacological therapy and psychotherapy with the main goals of reducing binge frequency and weight reduction. Three categories of medications have been identified for the pharmacological treatment of BED: antidepressants, centrally acting appetite suppressants, and anticonvulsants Behavioral weight loss (BWL) includes modest weight reduction typically by reducing fat intake, eating regular meals and snacks and increasing weekly exercise. Interpersonal psychotherapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy are the most successful forms for psychotherapy used to treat BED. In conclusion, BED etiology is multifaceted and successful treatment must address the complexities of the disorder. / text

As the title reveals this is a study of female college students alcohol habits in Kalmar,Sweden. During the spring of 2012 a total of 118 female students at Linnaeus universityanswered a survey about their alcohol habits. The survey reveled that as many as 67%percent of the answering female students (according to Audit) have risky drinking habits.The drinking habits are explained using Albert Banduras social learning theory in contextto the Scandinavian drinking pattern. The study concludes that female alcohol habits needeven further research. Furthermore the study shows that student initiation have an impacton the female drinking habits and that expectations of that students drink are to some extentimportant to the development of hazardous drinking habits.

A wealth of studies have examined the impact of alcohol on violence; however, only a small number have addressed differences elicited by different doses of alcohol. Such studies are seriously limited by mixed findings, small sample sizes, inconsistent alcohol doses and control conditions, a bias toward studying only male participants, and the predominant use of only one particular measure to assess aggression. The present laboratory investigation was designed to elucidate and advance this literature by improving upon these limitations. Participants were 187 (95 men and 92 women) social drinkers. Following the consumption of one of 6 alcohol doses (i.e., 0.0g/kg; 0.125g/kg; 0.25g/kg; 0.5g/kg; 0.75g/kg; and 1.0g/kg), participants were tested on a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the intensity of shocks administered to their opponent. Analyses revealed that higher alcohol doses clearly elicited greater aggression in both genders consistent with a linear non-threshold dose-response model. Our data help to clarify a body of literature that has been afflicted with numerous limitations and will also help in the selection of alcohol doses for researchers conducting future laboratory-based aggression studies.

The aim of this study was to test for prospective relationships between personality factors measured in elementary school and drinking, smoking, and binge eating during the first year of middle school. Data were collected among adolescents drawn from 23 elementary schools and 15 middles schools in central Kentucky. In a two-wave study, 1,906 children completed questionnaire measures in the spring of 5th grade and the spring of 6th grade. After controlling for sex, pubertal status, and prior engagement in addictive behaviors, it was found that urgency at wave 1 predicted drinking, smoking, and binge eating at wave 2, and low conscientiousness at wave 1 predicted drinking and smoking at wave 2. Risky behaviors during the first year of middle school predict subsequent life problems and subsequent diagnosable addictive disorders. The finding that those behaviors can be predicted by personality factors measured in elementary school indicates the value, for risk researchers and prevention specialists, of focusing efforts on children prior to the onset of adolescence.

The current dissertation is comprised of two studies that examined the relationship between group dynamics, attachment anxiety, and post-treatment outcomes in a sample of women (N = 102) with binge eating disorder (BED) who received Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy. The first study explored the relationship between the development of group cohesion, the individuals’ level of attachment anxiety, and frequency of binge eating, symptoms of depression, and self-esteem at post-treatment. The second study explored the relationship between the interpersonal learning, individuals’ level of attachment anxiety, and outcomes. Interpersonal learning was conceptualized as the convergence between multiple perspectives of group cohesion: one’s own and the group’s perception of one’s cohesion to the group. Parallel measures of individual self-rated cohesion (CQ-I) and mean group-rated cohesion (CQ-G) were developed based on the original Cohesion Questionnaire (CQ; Piper et al., 1983) for this study. Participants were assigned to homogeneous groups composed of either high or low attachment anxiety to assess the impact of pre-treatment attachment anxiety. Findings indicated significant growth in cohesion over time, and a significant convergence in multiple ratings of cohesion. These processes did not differ significantly based on level of attachment anxiety. Growth in cohesion was related to greater reductions in binge eating for those high in attachment anxiety, while the convergence in ratings of cohesion (i.e., interpersonal learning) was related to improvements in self-esteem for individuals in both attachment anxiety conditions. The findings support the importance of group interventions for BED that are sensitive to individuals’ attachment anxiety, and that emphasize cohesiveness, and interpersonal learning to improve outcomes.

[Truncated abstract] Eating disorders affect a significant proportion of adolescent and young adult women and a smaller proportion of children, men, and older individuals. They are associated with a range of physical, psychological, and social consequences that can have a profound and lasting impact on affected individuals. Eating disorder symptoms (e.g., marked weight and shape concern, strict dieting, binge eating, purging) are also associated with physiological and psychosocial morbidity, and are reported by up to half of adolescent girls and one-third of adolescent boys. If eating disorders are to be effectively prevented or treated, it is imperative that risk and maintaining factors for the conditions are identified. ... This thesis aimed to identify the variables and models that may best account for the development and maintenance of eating disorder symptoms, through two broad studies and six sub-studies. Study 1 focused on identifying predictors of cognitive (i.e., elevated weight and shape concern) and behavioural (i.e., binge eating) eating disorder symptoms in pre- to early-adolescent children followed over time. Prospective tests of the dual-pathway (Stice, 2001) and cognitive-behavioural (Fairburn, 2002; Fairburn, Cooper, & Shafran, 2003) models of eating pathology were also conducted, and a distinction was made between weight and shape concern and weight and shape over-evaluation. Low selfesteem, perceived media pressure to be thin, weight and shape over-evaluation, and maternal concern about child weight prospectively predicted increases in child weight and shape concern over time (Studies 1b and 1c), and weight and shape concern was the most robust predictor of increases in dietary restraint (Studies 1b and 1d). Dietary restraint and affect-related eating prospectively predicted binge eating onset (Studies 1a and 1d), and the dual-pathway and cognitive-behavioural models were both able to account for the development of binge eating over a two year period (Study 1d). Evidence was also provided for the relative superiority of the most recent, enhanced cognitivebehavioural model (Fairburn et al., 2003) over other available theoretical accounts. Study 2 focused more specifically on the role of mood intolerance in predicting and maintaining eating pathology in adults. In Study 2a, a new measure of mood intolerance was developed, revised, and evaluated. In Study 2b, the role of mood intolerance in cross-sectionally predicting binge eating and purging was examined within the framework of the enhanced cognitive-behavioural model. The importance of mood intolerance in accounting for eating disorder symptoms was confirmed, and additional support for the cognitive-behavioural model was provided. Collectively, the six empirical studies have provided new data regarding the relative importance of different variables in the development and maintenance of different eating disorder symptoms. They also provide initial insight into the relative validity of alternate theoretical models in this area. The results suggest that the most recent, enhanced cognitive-behavioural model may provide the best account of how eating disorder symptoms develop and are maintained, providing that the mood intolerance component of the model is specified.

A plethora of research has linked negative affect with binge eating in people with binge eating disorder (BED). Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT) have not traditionally addressed emotional regulation deficits. Failure to address emotional aspects of binge eating may explain why some individuals do not respond to CBT or IPT, and why many of those who do respond relapse shortly after finishing treatment. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) specifically targets the inability to accurately recognise and regulate affect. Preliminary investigations have shown that DBT may be efficacious in treating BED. However, it can take up to 10 months, and a shorter intervention targeting affect regulation and recognition may produce similar effects. Four studies evaluating a ten session emotion-focussed group psychoeducational intervention for BED were conducted. In the first, 25 women diagnosed with subthreshold or full syndrome BED (using DSM-IV-TR criteria) were treated. The second study tested whether the specific components of the intervention, or the treatment as a whole, was required to produce positive outcomes in women. Study three, examined the efficacy of the treatment programme with three men diagnosed with subthreshold or full syndrome BED (also using DSM-IV-TR criteria). The fourth study compared the women's and men's response to treatment. Following the intervention with women, binge abstinence rates, comparable to those of CBT and IPT, and various other positive changes to eating and general pathology, were observed. These effects were well-maintained up to one-year later. Overall, it was concluded that the whole treatment programme was necessary to produce the optimum outcome for BED in women. A positive outcome was measured in the men, although the effects were not as dramatic as those found in the women. Suggestions for improvements, and suggestions for further research, are discussed. The results provide support for the Affect Regulation Model of BED in women and men.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2006. / "June 2006." Includes abstract. DTIC report no.: ADA451315. Author was part of NPS's company officers program and was stationed at the Naval Academy while doing the research for this thesis Includes bibliographical references (p. 113 - 115). Full text available online from DTIC and USNA LEAD theses database.

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Department of Psychology, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.