The relationship between childhood trauma and invalidating environments with binge eating: The mediating role of alexithymia
Subject Areas : Psychology
Mahsa Mohasses
1
,
Seyyed Ali Hosseini Almadani
2
*
,
Solmaz Dabiri
3
1 - Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Psychology, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran. Iran.
3 - Department of Psychology, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran. Iran.
Keywords: Alexithymia, Invalidating Environments, Childhood Trauma, Binge Eating Symptoms,
Abstract :
This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between invalidating environments and childhood trauma with symptoms of binge eating. A correlational research design was employed, involving a sample of 493 male and female students from the Tehran North branch of Azad University during the 2023-2024 academic year. Participants were selected using a multistage sampling method and completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby et al., 1994), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (Bernstein et al., 2003), the Childhood Invalidating Environment Scale (Mountford et al., 2007), and the Binge Eating Scale (Gormally et al., 1982). Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with AMOS software. The results indicated the direct effect of childhood trauma on binge eating (t = 1.384, β = 0.115) and the direct effect of invalidating environments on binge eating (t = 1.546, β = 0.121) were not statistically significant. However, the direct effect of alexithymia on binge eating was statistically significant (t = 3.857, β = 0.203), as was the direct effect of childhood trauma on alexithymia (t = 3.306, β = 0.271). The indirect effect of childhood trauma on binge eating through alexithymia was significant (p < 0.05, β = 0.045), whereas the indirect effect of invalidating environments on binge eating through alexithymia was not significant (p > 0.05, β = 0.012). Overall, the findings suggest that adverse childhood experiences may increase the likelihood of engaging in maladaptive eating behaviors as an emotional response by facilitating difficulties in identifying and describing personal emotions.
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