An examination of between- and within-subject effects of stress on emotional eating over 49 consecutive days in women
Objective: Stress is associated with emotional eating (EE) in women cross-sectionally (between-subject). However, few studies have examined stress longitudinally limiting our understanding of how within-subject variations in stress level influence risk for EE over time and whether stress is in fact a risk factor or consequence of EE (within-subject). This study used an intensive, longitudinal study design to examine between- and within-subject effects of major life stress, daily stress impact, and cortisol on EE in women. Methods: An archival sample of 477 women aged 15-30 years recruited from the Michigan State University Twin Registry provided daily ratings of EE and stress impact for 49 consecutive days, along with self-reports of major life stress in the last 12 months and hair cortisol concentration (HCC), a longitudinal measure of cortisol secretion. Mixed linear models examined main and interactive effects of each stress variable on EE. Results: Both between- and within-subject analyses showed that daily stress more strongly predicted EE than major life stress. Specifically, women engaged in higher levels of EE when they experienced higher levels of daily stress impact relative to other women (between-subject) and their own daily stress levels (within-subject). There was a tendency for lower HCC to predict increased levels of EE (between-subject). Discussion: Findings confirm longitudinal associations between daily stress impact and cortisol with EE in women. Results also highlight the importance of within-subject shifts in a woman's stress level in her risk for EE and suggest that stress management techniques may a be useful tool for treatment.
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- In Collections
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Electronic Theses & Dissertations
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Material Type
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Theses
- Authors
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Fowler, Natasha
- Thesis Advisors
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Klump, Kelly L.
Sisk, Cheryl L.
- Committee Members
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Klump, Kelly L.
Sisk, Cheryl L.
Veenema, Alexa
Johnson, Alexander W.
- Date
- 2021
- Subjects
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Scheduled tribes in India--Food
Food
Psychological aspects
Stress (Psychology)
Hyperphagia in women
Emotions
Eating disorders in women
- Program of Study
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Psychology - Doctor of Philosophy
- Degree Level
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Doctoral
- Language
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English
- Pages
- vii, 87 pages
- ISBN
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9798538168408
- Permalink
- https://doi.org/doi:10.25335/8vmk-fb69