Cognitive avoidance of threat cues: association with Eating Disorder Inventory scores among a non-eating-disordered population.
OBJECTIVE
This two-part study investigated the cognitive processing of food- and threat-related information in a non-eating-disordered population, particularly exploring the mechanisms that might explain the process of cognitive avoidance among women with bulimic attitudes.


METHODS
In the first study, 30 female students solved anagrams of neutral, food, and threat words. In the second study, 50 male and female students solved anagrams of words reflecting physical threat, self-directed ego threat, and ego threat directed from others.


RESULTS
In this task, there was no association between slower processing of threats and eating characteristics, but there were associations with Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI) scales that reflect "ego development."


CONCLUSIONS
The most reliable evidence of cognitive avoidance was among those participants who show the ego development characteristics that have been identified as important in the development and etiology of eating psychopathology. The implications for models of eating psychopathology and their treatment are discussed.
Waller
G
G
Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
Meyer
C
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010553:Personality Development; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011930:Reaction Time