Investigating the influence of shame, depression, and distress tolerance on the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating in lesbian and bisexual women

Abstract

There is limited research evidence about the specific factors influencing disordered eating for lesbian and bisexual women. Therefore, this study investigated relationships among binge eating, internalized homophobia, shame, depression, and distress tolerance in a sample of lesbian (n=72) and bisexual women (n=66). Two hypotheses were tested. First, it was hypothesized that shame and depression would mediate the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating. Second, it was hypothesized that distress tolerance would moderate the relationship between shame and binge eating and the relationship between depression and binge eating in the mediation relationships proposed in the first hypothesis. Results indicated that shame was a significant mediator for the relationship between internalized homophobia and binge eating, that depression was not a significant mediator, and that distress tolerance did not moderate the significant mediation relationship between shame and binge eating. The data in this study also indicated that the proportions of lesbian and bisexual participants who reported binge eating and compensatory behavior did not differ significantly, but that bisexual participants reported significantly more depression and shame than lesbian participants.

Eating disorders symptoms in sexual minority women: A systematic review

“…The same tendency was found by Striegel‐Moore et al () in a college student sample. Conversely, no differences were found by Mason and Lewis () and Bayer et al () in volunteer samples.…”

“…As regards compensatory behaviours, Bayer et al () found no differences between the SM population and their heterosexual peers, nevertheless without providing any specific definition of the type of compensatory behaviour considered. On the other hand, fasting or dieting as compensatory behaviours was found to occur more frequently in the SM population in Matthews‐Ewald et al (), Hadland et al (), Watson et al (), and Zullig et al ().…”

“…A second part of this systematic review was focused on ED symptoms and eating behaviours. The search individuated 38 papers (Austin et al, ; Austin et al, ; Bankoff et al, ; Bayer et al, ; Beren et al, ; Bergeron & Senn, ; Brand et al, ; Cella et al, ; Cella et al, ; Davids & Green, ; Diemer et al, ; French et al, ; Gettelman & Thompson, ; Hadland et al, ; Herzog et al, ; Katz‐Wise et al, ; Lakkis et al, ; Legenbauer et al, ; Maloch et al, ; Mason & Lewis, ; Matthews‐Ewald et al, ; Meyer et al, ; Moore & Keel, ; Mor et al, ; Nelson et al, ; Owens, Hughes, & Owens‐Nicholson, ; Peplau et al, ; Polimeni et al, ; Schneider et al, ; Share & Mintz, ; Shearer et al, ; Siever, ; Striegel‐Moore et al, ; Strong et al, ; VanKim et al, ; Watson et al, ; Wichstrom, ; Yean et al, ; Zullig et al, ) with relevant heterogeneity in the assessment of the symptoms, scales employed (e.g., Eating Disorders Inventory, Eating Attitudes Test‐26, Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaires, and Youth Risk Behavioural Surveillance System Survey), and inclusion criteria.…”

Eating Disorders and Disordered Weight and Shape Control Behaviors in Sexual Minority Populations

“…[13, 14] Accordingly, researchers such as Bayer et al (2017), Wang and Borders (2016), and Watson et al (2016) examined how shame, concealing ones sexual orientation, and experiencing discrimination can elevate eating disorder risk among both sexual minority men and women. [15–17] An in-depth review of the findings of studies that formally applied and tested theories and mechanisms underlying sexual orientation disparities is beyond the scope of this review, but a summary of the papers culled during the review is provided in Table 1.…”

Internalized Heterosexism, Outness, Athletic Identity, and Perceived Stress Among Queer Female Athletes

“…Alternatively, Kaysen et al (2014) identified maladaptive coping, as defined by behavioral disengagement, denial, self-blame, selfdistraction, and substance use, as a mediator between IH and psychological distress in a large sample of queer women (n = 1,099). In another study, increased shame mediated the relationship between IH and binge eating among 138 lesbians and bisexual women (Bayer, Robert-McComb, Clopton, & Reich, 2017). Additional negative correlates of IH among queer women include emotional intelligence, coping resources, and feminist identification (Szymanski & Chung, 2003;Szymanski et al, 2008b).…”