Implicit approach associations are well documented for substances such as alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. This paper reports two experiments designed to establish and modify such associations specifically in the food craving domain. Experiment 1 used a pictorial implicit association task to examine approach-avoidance associations with chocolate cues in a sample of 48 undergraduate women. Participants were faster to respond to trials that paired chocolate pictures and approach words, and trials that paired pictures of highly desired food items not containing chocolate and avoid words, than the converse pairings. The magnitude of this approach bias was positively correlated with participants' reported chocolate craving. Experiment 2 examined whether chocolate-related approach associations can be modified. Using a modified implicit association task, 96 undergraduate women were trained to associate chocolate pictures either with approach or with avoid words. As predicted, chocolate-approach associations increased in the approach group and decreased in the avoid group.Additionally, the approach group reported stronger chocolate cravings following training; in contrast, cravings tended to decrease in the avoid group. These results are consistent with incentive-and cognitive-motivational accounts of craving, and support and extend reports of approach biases (and the re-training of those biases) for other substances, including alcohol and cigarettes, to the food domain. They also offer potential scope for curbing unwanted food cravings in the context of problem eating behaviour.

Computer-based delivery of health-related psychoeducational programming is increasingly popular. In the present study, 72 non-symptomatic undergraduate women were randomized to an Internet-based prevention program for eating disorders with or without accompanying discussion groups, or a control group. Sixty-one of the women (84%) completed the Student Bodies program, and were assessed at short and eight-nine month follow-up. Participation in the program resulted in better outcomes across all groups compared to controls, and women in the unmoderated discussion group appeared to have the most reduction in risk. Benefits of the program continued at follow-up. Decrease in risk also was associated with time spent using the Internet-based program. The present study suggests that the use of Student Bodies may reduce risk of eating and body image concerns over the long term, and that moderation of discussion groups may not be essential for successful outcomes. Further research on larger samples will help determine the degree to which discussion groups or the Student Bodies program alone are effective.

The present study examined the effects of depression and marital distress on behavior during a marital problem-solving interaction. A complete factorial design combined the presence or absence of a depressed wife with the presence or absence of marital distress, to produce four groups of participant couples. An increase in depressive behavior was the sole unique contribution of a depressed wife, occurring regardless of the level of marital distress. Increased aggressive behavior and decreased facilitative behavior were found to characterize the interactions of maritally distressed couples and were not influenced by depression. Resolution-oriented behavior remained unchanged as a result of either depression or marital distress. The results indicate that marital distress, in addition to depression, should be considered as a source of dysfunctional behavior in marital interactions involving depressed individuals.

This study examined the potential mediating roles of mindfulness and body awareness in the relationship between exercise and eating behavior. Female exercisers (N = 159) recruited from fitness centers, yoga centers, and the community completed a questionnaire incorporating measures of exercise behavior, body awareness, trait mindfulness, mindful eating, dietary intake, and disordered eating symptoms. Participation in yoga was associated with significantly lower disordered eating (mediated by body awareness), whereas the amount of time spent participating in cardio-based exercise was associated with greater eating disturbance. The relationships between amount of exercise and actual food intake were not mediated by trait mindfulness or body awareness. The differential findings for dietary intake and disordered eating indicate that the body awareness cultivated in different forms of exercise may be more beneficial for clinical populations or those at risk for eating disorders than for modifying actual dietary intake in the general population.

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