Challenge accepted - Disentangling the link between emotion regulation and body dissatisfaction

Body dissatisfaction is the most consistent and the strongest risk factor for the development of an eating disorder (ED) and a transdiagnostic core feature of EDs. EDs are common among women and characterized by high chronicity, high comorbidity, high mortality and concatenated medical problems. Accordingly, it is important to establish new treatment innovations targeting core clinical features of EDs. Emerging evidence indicates that emotion regulation (ER) strategies can successfully decrease body dissatisfaction, yet the cognitive mechanisms underlying this effect are unclear. A potential candidate mechanism could be attention allocation towards (negative) body-related information, a cognitive process that is highly associated with body dissatisfaction. However, currently, it is unclear a.) how adaptive emotion regulation, specifically the acceptance of negative emotions related to body image, affects further processing of body-related information and b.) if attention allocation towards negative body information is a process that is malleable through emotion regulation strategies. Accordingly, the proposed project therefore aims to test experimentally if an acceptance-based ER training (versus standard control ER training) influences attention deployment towards body-related information and body dissatisfaction.

Ansprechpartner: Werthmann J

Projektbeginn: 01.10.2018
Projektende: 31.07.2019

Werthmann J

Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Institut für Psychologie
Abteilung für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie
Engelbergerstr. 41
79085 Freiburg i. Br.

Telefon: ++49-(0)761/203-3013
Fax: ++49-(0)761/203-3022
http://www.psychologie.uni-freiburg.de/abteilungen/Klinische.Psychologie

• Freiburg Institute of Advanced Studies