The Role of Mindfulness and Disordered Eating Cognitions in Psychological Distress among College Females with Elevated Disordered Eating

The present study investigated whether mindfulness and different forms of maladaptive eating-related cognitions (i.e., fear of gaining weight, belief that social approval is contingent on weight/appearance, and self-worth from feeling in control of eating) separately and independently accounted for unique variance in psychological distress among adult females with elevated eating pathology. Ethnically diverse nonclinical college females (N = 738) completed a web-based survey; data from 91 of these participants who endorsed elevated eating pathology were selected for analyses. Mindfulness and fear of gaining weight, but not self-worth or perceived importance of appearance for gaining social approval, accounted for unique variance in psychological distress after controlling for age, ethnicity and body mass index (BMI). The present study suggests that not all forms of disordered eating cognitions are uniquely associated with psychological distress among females with elevated eating pathology and that mindfulness is a useful concept for understanding psychological distress in this group.