title: Psychological need satisfaction, control, and disordered eating.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Unfulfilled basic psychological needs have been associated with disordered eating behaviours, but the mechanisms underlying that associations are not well understood. This study examined a two-stage path model linking basic psychological need satisfaction to disordered eating behaviours via issues of control.
  
  
  METHODS
  Female university students (N = 323; Mage= 19.61), community participants (N = 371; Mage= 29.75), and women who self-reported having been diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED; N = 41; Mage= 23.88) completed measures of psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy and competence), issues of control (i.e., feelings of ineffectiveness and fear of losing self-control [FLC]), and ED pathology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Path analysis revealed that unsatisfied needs of autonomy and competence were indirectly related to disordered eating behaviours through feelings of ineffectiveness and FLC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that issues of control might be one of the mechanisms through which lack of psychological need satisfaction is associated with disordered eating. Although the model was constructed using cross-sectional data, these findings suggest potential targets for prevention and treatment efforts aimed at reducing disordered eating in young females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that young women with chronically unfulfilled basic psychological needs might be vulnerable to developing disordered eating behaviours. The observed patterns suggest that persistent experience of need frustration may engender an internal sense of ineffectiveness and lack of control, which then compels individuals to engage in disordered eating behaviours in an attempt to regain autonomy and competence. Interventions for eating disorders may be most effective when emphasizing the promotion of people's needs for autonomy and competence. Limitations The model was constructed using cross-sectional data. Future experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the temporal sequence from basic psychological needs to issues of control. The sample only consisted of young women. Further research should explore how thwarting of psychological need satisfaction functions in men. Our clinical sample was small and diagnosis was not confirmed through clinical interview; therefore, those data should be interpreted with caution.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Franzisca V
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3679-6728
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Froreich
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Lenny R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Vartanian
authors.affiliation: Psychological Sciences, University of California, Merced, California, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zawadzki
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Grisham
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Stephen W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Touyz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D000068356:Self-Control; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: basic psychological needs; control; disordered eating; fear of losing self-control; ineffectiveness