Bulimic symptoms in undergraduate men and women: Contributions of mindfulness and thought suppression

Mindfulness mediates the relation between disordered eating-related cognitions and psychological distress

“…This position concurs with mindfulness-based interventions, which are shown to be effective for disordered eating spectrum problems and related issues (e.g., Baer, Fischer, & Huss, 2005;Heffner & Eifert, 2004;Safer, Telch, & Agras, 2001;Telch, Agras, & Linehan, 2001). As discussed elsewhere (Lavender et al, 2009), the present study seems to support the potential values of mindfulness-based interventions and suggests that mindfulness may be a potential process of change in these methods.…”

“…Additionally, evidence seems to suggest a possible inverse link between mindfulness and disordered eating-related cognitions (Lavender, Jardin, & Anderson, 2009). Furthermore, a study suggests that mindfulness may potentially mediate the link between disordered eating-related cognitions and psychological distress (Masuda et al, 2010).…”

Investigating the Role of Dispositional Mindfulness as a Protective Factor for Body Image Dissatisfaction Among Women

“…An enhanced self-awareness of negative thoughts and behaviors associated with appearance and the ability to maintain a sense of acceptance for these beliefs may protect women from internalizing the thin ideal and engaging in maladaptive eating behaviours, including dieting. Results from this study also support other preliminary findings suggesting dispositional mindfulness is related to increased body image satisfaction and inversely correlated to disordered eating-related cognitions (Dijkstra and Barelds, 2011;Lavender et al, 2009).…”

“…Furthermore, Carson and Langer (2006) suggest that mindfulness contributes to selfesteem through promoting authenticity instead of social comparison and acceptance of the self instead of evaluation. In support of this premise, preliminary results indicate that dispositional mindfulness is inversely related to disordered eating-related cognitions (Lavender et al, 2009) and potentially mediates the link between disordered eating-related cognitions and psychological distress (Masuda and Wendell, 2010). Furthermore, women high in dispositional mindfulness are reportedly more satisfied with their body and are less likely to engage in social comparison processes typically indicative of body-related shame (Dijkstra and Barelds, 2011).…”

Breaking the Silence

“…Alternatively, it is possible that men with eating pathology may be more avoidant, or less aware of physiological and emotional cues and thus, less likely to report emotional distress. Previous studies have reported that experiential avoidance is particularly high among populations with EDs (Cockell, Geller, & Linden, 2002;Orsillo & Batten, 2002;Rawal, Park, & Williams, 2010) and that the tendency to suppress unpleasant or intrusive thoughts positively predicts ED symptoms (Lavender, Jardin, & Anderson, 2009).…”