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Using two modes of intervention delivery, the present study compared the effects of a cognitive defusion strategy with a thought distraction strategy on the emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts. One mode of intervention delivery consisted of a clinical rationale and training (i.e., Partial condition). The other mode contained a condition-specific experiential exercise with the negative self-referential thought in addition to the clinical rationale and training (i.e., Full condition). Nonclinical undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of five protocols: Partial-Defusion, Full-Defusion, Partial-Distraction, Full-Distraction, and a distraction-based experimental control task. The Full-Defusion condition reduced the emotional discomfort and believability of negative self-referential thoughts significantly more than other comparison conditions. The positive results of the Full-Defusion condition were also found among participants with elevated depressive symptoms.
OBJECTIVE: A growing body of evidence suggests that rigid and inflexible regulation and coping are at the core of psychopathology, including disordered eating (DE) problems. Employing two cross-sectional studies, the present paper investigated whether body image flexibility (BIF), a specific type of psychological flexibility, mediates the relations between DE cognitions and overall DE pathology.METHOD: Ethnically diverse non-clinical college undergraduates (Study 1 N=208; Study 2 N=178) completed an anonymous online survey.
RESULTS: BIF was found to partially mediate the relationship between DE cognitions and overall DE pathology after controlling for gender and body mass index (BMI).
DISCUSSION: Our findings suggest that the link between DE cognitions and overall DE pathology is established in part through an inflexible and avoidant coping style specific to negative body image. Clinical implications include targeting BIF as a mechanism of change and treating DE pathology with acceptance- and mindfulness-based behavioral interventions.