Alexithymia, negative affect and disordered eating
Description
Data included in PROCESS mediation showing the direct and indirect effects, via negative affect, of alexithymia on symptoms of disordered eating in a non-clinical sample
Files
Steps to reproduce
206 participants completed The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; Bagby et al., 1994), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) and the Eating Disorders Inventory (EDI-2; Garner, 1991). The data contains total TAS-20 score (plus subscales difficulty identifying feelings (DIF), difficulty describing feelings (DDF), and externally oriented thinking (EOT)), depression and anxiety subscales of the HADS, and three subscales from the EDI (drive for thinness (DFT), bulimia (Bul), and body dissatisfaction (BD)). Factor analysis was conducted on the depression and anxiety data to extract a single factor (negative affect). A series of mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro (model 4) in SPSS with alexithymia (DIF and DDF) as predictor variables, negative affect as the mediator, and disordered eating DFT, Bul and BD as dependent variables. Negative affect mediated the influence of DIF and DDF on disordered eating. However, after controlling for negative affect, direct effects of DIF on DFT and Bul were still observed. Similarly, direct effects of DDF on Bul and BD were evident, even after controlling for negative affect.