Victimization and Food Addiction Symptoms: Direct and Indirect Effects Through Emotion Dysregulation, Impulsivity, and Loss-of-Control Eating

Previous research suggests that dating, intimate partner, and sexual violence victimization throughout the life span are predictive of numerous adverse health outcomes including addictive behaviors, psychopathology, and physical health symptoms. Self-medication hypotheses posit that victims may drink heavily, use substances, or rely on food to cope with negative affect and psychological symptoms. We examined a self-medication hypothesis-driven model linking dating and sexual violence victimization with food addiction symptoms through their relationships with emotion regulation, impulsivity, and loss-of-control eating in a sample of 313 single, non-treatment-engaged, college student women aged 18-25 years old enrolled in a minority serving, urban university. Participants completed an online survey with measures of dating and sexual violence victimization since age 14 years, emotion regulation, impulsivity, loss-of-control eating, and food addiction symptoms. Seventy-nine percent of participants reported experiencing some form of intimate partner violence victimization. Using path analyses, we found some support for our model as well as significant, positive, direct pathways from victimization to loss-of-control eating and food addiction symptoms. Clinicians and policy makers should incorporate these findings into practice by honoring the experiences of past victimizations in current health behaviors and by utilizing trauma-informed care practices. To extend this study's findings, researchers should examine the role of trauma-informed interventions targeting emotional regulation and impulsivity to decrease loss-of-control eating and food addiction symptoms.