RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The effects of negative affect on problem-solving and its psychophysiological correlates are poorly understood in eating disorder populations. METHODS: This study examined respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and skin conductance responses of women with Binge Eating Disorder (BED: n = 56), Anorexia Nervosa (AN: n = 12), Bulimia Nervosa (BN: n = 32), and 24 healthy controls (HCs) at baseline, and then during: a negative mood induction task, an adapted Means Ends Problem-Solving (MEPS) task, and recovery. The MEPS task included four interpersonal scenarios: (1) binge-eating as a solution to stress, (2) job loss, (3) rejection by friends, and (4) by a significant other. RESULTS: We found that individuals with eating disorders reported less positive mood than HCs and individuals with BN and BED reported more negative mood and greater urges to binge than HCs. After a negative mood induction, women with BED provided significantly less effective problem-solving strategies compared to HCs and women with BN for the binge-eating MEPS scenario. Relative to baseline and the negative mood induction, all participants exhibited significantly higher skin conductance measures throughout the MEPS scenarios and recovery. BED showed significantly lower respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) levels than individuals with BN and HCs throughout the protocol. CONCLUSIONS: The multimethod findings suggest individuals with BED are likely to have disorder-specific problem-solving difficulties after a negative mood induction.
There is some evidence that individuals with eating disorders experience more negative mood and have challenges with social problem-solving. However, the ability to solve social problems while in a negative mood has not yet been examined while also looking at physiological changes. We measured physiological responses of women with Binge Eating Disorder (BED; n = 56), Anorexia Nervosa (AN; n = 12), Bulimia Nervosa (BN; n = 32), and healthy controls (HCs; n = 24) before and after a task designed to induce a negative mood followed by a problem-solving task. The problem-solving task asked individuals to come up with solutions to social problems related to 1) binge-eating urges, 2) job loss, 3) rejection by friends, and 4) rejection of a significant other. We found that individuals with eating disorders reported less positive mood than HCs and individuals with BN and BED reported more negative mood and greater urges to binge than HCs. Individuals with BED generated fewer effective solutions on a binge-eating problem-solving task and had consistent respiratory sinus arrhythmia differences, which may indicate emotion regulation difficulties.