Meaning in Life Mediates Between Emotional Deregulation and Eating Disorders Psychopathology: A Research From the Meaning-Making Model of Eating Disorders

Abstract

Emotional dysregulation, age, gender, and obesity are transdiagnostic risk factors for the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Previous studies found that patients with ED had less meaning in life than the non-clinical population, and that meaning in life acted as a buffer in the course of ED; however, to the data, there are no studies about the mediator role of meaning in life in association between the emotional dysregulation and the ED psychopathology.Objective: To analyze the mediating role of meaning in life in the relationship between emotional dysregulation and the ED psychopathology in three samples with diverse risk factors for ED.Method: Sample 1, n = 153 undergraduate young women; sample 2, n = 122 participants with obesity; and sample 3, n = 292 participants with ED. Multiple mediation analysis was performed.Results: Sample 1: meaning in life showed a mediation effect between emotional dysregulation and the ED psychopathology (direct effect β = 0.390, p < 0.05) (indirect effect β = 0.227, p < 0.05), body satisfaction (direct effect β = −0.017, p < 0.05) (indirect effect β = −0.013, p < 0.01), and depression symptoms (direct effect β = 1.112, p < 0.001) (indirect effect β = 0.414, p < 0.001); sample 2: meaning in life showed a mediation effect between emotional dysregulation and binge eating and purging behaviors (direct effect β = 0.194, p < 0.01) (indirect effect β = 0.054, p < 0.05) and depression symptoms (direct effect β = 0.357, p < 0.001) (indirect effect β = 0.063, p < 0.05); sample 3: meaning in life showed a mediation effect between emotional dysregulation and the ED psychopathology (direct effect β = 0.884, p < 0.001) (indirect effect β = 0.252, p < 0.007), body satisfaction (direct effect β = −0.033, p < 0.05) (indirect effect β = −0.021, p < 0.001), borderline symptoms (direct effect β = 0.040, p < 0.001) (indirect effect β = 0.025, p < 0.001), and hopelessness (direct effect β = 0.211, p < 0.001) (indirect effect β = 0.087, p < 0.001).Conclusions: These studies suggest the importance of considering meaning in life as a variable in the onset and maintenance of ED.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of meaning‐centred psychotherapies in depressed participants

“…The results found in this systematic review indicate that MCP is more effective than a control group with no active treatment (waitlist or psychoeducation group) (Bernstein et al, 2016;Cho et al, 2013;Delavari et al, 2014;Kim & Choi, 2020;Sun et al, 2021) and with a control group with CBT (Moosavi et al, 2012) in reducing depressive symptoms, improving meaning in life, and reducing anxiety in participants without physical illnesses, mainly in people who are going through difficult coping situations (caregivers), people who are in a life transition, such as the elderly after retirement, and patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Our results confirm those from previous meta-analyses that found MCP to be effective in reducing depression and anxiety in people with advanced cancer (Dietrich et al, 2021) and in improving meaning in life in people with physical illnesses (Vos et al, 2015;Vos, 2016;Vos & Vitali, 2018), and these results are consistent with the protective relationship between meaning in life and depressive symptoms found in previous studies (Huo et al, 2020;Marco, Alonso, & Baños, 2021;Marco, Cañabate, et al, 2021).…”

Existential Factors’ Impact on Body Dissatisfaction: An Empirical Study of Greek Adolescents and Adults

“…In addition, it is important to report that Presence of Meaning in Life predicted Body Areas Satisfaction, whereas Search for Meaning in Life predicted Overweight Preoccupation. Following claims that meaning in life constitutes a protective factor against eating disorders or body dissatisfaction (Gόngora, 2014;Marco et al, 2017Marco et al, , 2019, and other studies that refer to the importance of considering meaning in life as a variable in the onset and maintenance of eating disorders (Marco et al, 2021), we suggest that the absence or low presence of Meaning in Life may be an important agent in formatting eating pathology. Since low meaning in life seems to be associated with psychopathology (Psarra & Kleftaras, 2013) and the most important human motivation involves perceiving and experiencing that one's life is meaningful (Frankl, 1988), psychotherapeutic interventions should aim at developing meaning in life in individuals with eating pathology (Fava, 2016), or add meaning-centered therapy for eating disorder participants with low meaning in life (Marco et al, 2021).…”

Meaning in life as a protective factor against depression

“…Also, we found a negative correlation between emotional dysregulation and MIL, suggesting that MIL is a factor that significantly influences ER processes. This result suggests that the use of adaptive or maladaptive ER strategies could hinder or favor the creation of MIL and vice versa ( Marco et al, 2017a , 2020b , 2021 ). Different studies have found that in the presence of high MIL, better ER ( Park and Yoo, 2016 ), better emotion-focused coping and positive affect are observed ( Ward et al, 2023 ), confirming the important relationship between both constructs ( Abeyta et al, 2015 ; Marco et al, 2017b ; García-Alandete et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Furthermore, Marco et al (2021) , proposed the mediating role of MIL between emotional dysregulation and variables related to the psychopathology of eating disorders such as depression. On the other hand, Marco et al (2020a) include MIL as a mediator of cognitive behavioral intervention for depression.…”