Emotional Eating (EE) is understood as a maladaptive self-regulation strategy to satisfy emotional needs instead of hunger. Consequently, EE has been associated with negative health consequences. Enjoyment of food and music share similar neural activations in the brain and are both used by people for regulating affect. This suggests that music listening could potentially be a healthier alternative to EE. The present study was designed to investigate associations between EE, disordered mood, and music-related mood regulation. A total of 571 participants completed measures of EE, music listening strategies, and disordered mood. Associations between seven different music listening strategies and EE were examined, and also whether these regulation strategies were associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. Finally, we explored associations between music listening and EE in people with low and high (non-clinical) levels of disordered mood (depression, anxiety, and stress). The findings of this research indicated that music listening for discharge (releasing anger or sadness through music that expresses these same emotions) and EE were positively associated with one another. In addition, EE and the music listening strategies of entertainment, diversion or mental work were associated in people with low levels of disordered mood. When disordered mood was high, EE was higher, but was not associated with music listening strategies. These associations point towards the possibility of some music listening strategies being useful as healthier alternatives for EE.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
2.
AntonyM. M.BielingP. J.CoxB. J.EnnsM. W.SwinsonR. P. (1998). Psychometric properties of the 42-item and 21-item versions of the depression anxiety stress scales in clinical groups and a community sample. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 176–181.
3.
AnschutzD. J.Van StrienT.Van de VenM. O. M.EngelsR. C. (2009). Eating styles and energy intake in young women. Appetite, 53(1), 119–122.
4.
BayramN.BilgelN. (2008). The prevalence and socio-demographic correlations of depression, anxiety and stress among a group of university students. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 43(8), 667–672.
5.
BerkingM.PoppeC.LuhmannM.WuppermanP.JaggiV.SeifritzE. (2012). Is the association between various emotion-regulation skills and mental health mediated by the ability to modify emotions? Results from two cross-sectional studies. Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43(3), 931–937.
6.
BloodA. J.ZatorreR. J. (2001). Intensely pleasurable responses to music correlate with activity in brain regions implicated in reward and emotion. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(20), 11818–11823.
7.
BongersP.JansenA. (2016). Emotional eating is not what you think it is and emotional eating scales do not measure what you think they measure. Frontiers in Psychology, 43(3), 931–937.
8.
British Psychological Society. (2013). Ethics Guidelines for Internet-mediated Research. Leicester, UK: Author.
9.
British Psychological Society. (2014). Code of human research ethics. Leicester, UK: Author.
10.
CarlsonE.SaarikallioS.ToiviainenP.BogertB.KliuchkoM.BratticoE. (2015). Maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation through music: A behavioral and neuroimaging study of males and females. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 43(3), 931–937. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2015.00466
11.
ChinT.RickardN. S. (2013). Emotion regulation strategy mediates both positive and negative relationships between music uses and wellbeing. Psychology of Music, 42(5), 692–713.
12.
ChengC.LauH. B.ChanM. S. (2014). Coping flexibility and psychological adjustment to stressful life changes: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 140, 1528–1607.
13.
CrawfordJ. R.HenryJ. D. (2003). The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): Normative data and latent structure in a large non clinical sample. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42, 111–131.
14.
DixonJ. B. (2010). The effect of obesity on health outcomes. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 316(2), 25, 104–108.
EversC.StokF. M.De RidderD. T. D. (2010). Feeding your feelings: Emotion regulation strategies and emotional eating. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(6), 792–804.
17.
GeliebterA.AversaA. (2003). Emotional eating in overweight, normal weight, and underweight individuals. Eating Behaviors, 3, 341–347.
18.
GetzL. M.MarksS.RoyM. (2014). The influence of stress, optimism, and music training on music uses and preferences. Psychology of Music, 42(1), 71–85.
19.
GibsonE. L. (2012). The psychobiology of comfort eating: Implications for neuropharmacological interventions. Behavioural Pharmacology, 23(5–6), 442–460.
20.
GortnerE. M.RudeS. S.PennebakerJ. W. (2006). Benefits of expressive writing in lowering rumination and depressive symptoms. Behavior Therapy, 37(3), 292–303.
21.
GrossJ. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39(3), 281–291.
22.
HanserW. E.Ter BogtT. F. M.Van den TolA. J. M.MarkR. E.VingerhoetsA. J. J. M. (2016). Consolation through music: A survey study. Musicae Scientiae, 20(1), 81–101.
23.
HayesA. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
24.
HaysN. P.RobertsS. B. (2008). Aspects of eating behaviors “disinhibition” and “restraint” are related to weight gain and BMI in women. Obesity, 16, 52–58.
25.
JansenP. W.RozaS. J.JaddoeV. W.MackenbachJ. D.RaatH.HofmanA.… TiemeierH. (2012). Children’s eating behavior, feeding practices of parents and weight problems in early childhood: Results from the population-based Generation R Study. International Journal of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9, 130–141. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-9-130
26.
KoendersP. G.Van StrienT. (2011). Emotional eating, rather than lifestyle behavior, drives weight gain in a prospective study in 1562 employees. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 53(11), 12–87.
27.
KonttinenH.MännistöS.Sarlio-LähteenkorvaS.SilventoinenK.HaukkalaA. (2010). Emotional eating, depressive symptoms and self-reported food consumption. A population-based study. Appetite, 54(3), 473–479.
28.
LabbéE.SchmidtN.BabinJ.PharrM. (2007). Coping with stress: The effectiveness of different types of music. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 32(3–4), 163–168.
29.
LarsenJ. K.Van StrienT.EisingaR.EngelsR. C. M. E. (2007). Gender differences in the association between alexithymia and emotional eating in obese individuals. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60(3), 237–243.
30.
LarsenJ. K.Van StrienT.EisingaR.HermanC. P.EngelsR. C. M. E. (2007). Dietary restraint: intention versus behavior to restrict food intake. Appetite, 49(1), 100–108.
31.
LovibondS. H.LovibondP. F. (1995). Manual for the depression anxiety stress scales (2nd ed.). Sydney, Australia: Psychology Foundation of Australia.
32.
MachtM. (2008). How emotions affect eating: A five-way model. Appetite, 50, 1–11.
33.
MachtM.DettmerD. (2006). Everyday mood and emotions after eating a chocolate bar or an apple. Appetite, 46, 332–336.
34.
MaratosA. S.GoldC.WangX.CrawfordM. J. (2008). Music therapy for depression. Cochrane Database Systematic Review, 1, CD004517. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004517.pub3
35.
Mas-HerreroE.Marco-PallaresJ.Lorenzo-SevaU.ZatorreR. J.Rodriguez-FornellsA. (2013). Individual differences in music reward experiences. Music Perception, 31(2), 118–138.
36.
MorrisW. N.ReillyN. P. (1987). Toward the self-regulation of mood: Theory and research. Motivation and Emotion, 11(3), 215–249.
37.
Nguyen-RodriguezS. T.UngerJ. B.Spruijt-MetzD. (2009). Psychological determinants of emotional eating in adolescence. Eating Disorders, 17(3), 211–224.
38.
NolanL. J.GeliebterA. (2012). Night eating is associated with emotional and external eating in college students. Eating Behaviors, 13, 202–206.
39.
Nolen-HoeksemaS. (1991). Responses to depression and their effects on the duration of depressive episodes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(4), 569–582.
40.
OuwensM. A.Van StrienT.Van LeeuweJ. F. J. (2009). Possible pathways between depression, emotional and external eating: A structural equation model. Appetite, 53(2), 245–248.
41.
RadstaakM.GeurtsS. A.BrosschotJ. F.KompierM. A. (2014). Music and psychophysiological recovery from stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 76(7), 529–537.
42.
RandallW. M.RickardN. S. (2016). Reasons for personal music listening: A mobile experience sampling study of emotional outcomes. Psychology of Music, 45(4), 479 – 495.
43.
RandallW. M.RickardN. S.Vella-BroderickD. A. (2014). Emotional outcomes of regulation strategies used during personal listening: A mobile experience sampling study. Musicae Scientiae, 18(3), 275–291.
44.
SaarikallioS. (2008). Music in mood regulation: Initial scale development. Musicae Scientiae, 12(2), 291–309.
45.
SaarikallioS.ErkkiläJ. (2007). The role of music in adolescents’ mood regulation. Psychology of Music, 35(1), 88–109.
46.
SalimpoorV. N.BenovoyM.LongoG.CooperstockJ. R.ZatorreR. J. (2011). The rewarding aspects of music listening are related to degree of emotional arousal. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e7487. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007487
47.
SchäferT.SedlmeierP.StädtlerC.HuronD. (2013). The psychological functions of music listening. Frontiers in Psychology, 4(511). doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00511
48.
SchneiderK. L.AppelhansB. M.WhitedM. C.OleskiJ.PagotoS. L. (2010). Trait anxiety, but not trait anger, predisposes obese individuals to emotional eating. Appetite, 55, 701–706.
49.
SchoeversR. A.BeekmanA. T. F.DeegD. J. H.JonkerC.Van TilburgW. (2003). Comorbidity and risk-patterns of depression, generalised anxiety disorder and mixed anxiety-depression in later life: Results from the AMSTEL study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(11), 1099–1166.
50.
SilkJ. S.SteinbergL.MorrisA. S. (2003). Adolescents’ emotion regulation in daily life: Links to depressive symptoms and problem behavior. Child Development, 74, 1869–1880.
51.
SlobodaJ. A.LamontA.GreasleyA. (2009). Choosing to hear music: Motivation, process and effect. In HallamS.CrossI.ThautM. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of music psychology (pp. 431–440). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
52.
SpoorS. T. P.BekkerM, H. J.Van StrienT.Van HeckG. L. (2007). Relations between negative affect, coping, and emotional eating, Appetite, 48(3), 368–376.
53.
Tanofsky-KraffM.WilfleyD. E.YoungJ. F.MufsonL.SusanZ.YanovskiD. R.… SalaitaC. G. (2007). Preventing excessive weight gain in adolescents: Interpersonal psychotherapy for binge eating. Obesity, 15(6), 1345–1355.
54.
TearneJ. E.JianghongL.McLeanN. J. (2016). Older maternal age is associated with depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in young adult female offspring. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 125(1), 1–10.
55.
ThautM. H. (2002). Toward a cognition-affect model in neuropsychiatric music therapy. In UnkeferR. F.ThautM. T. (Eds.), Music therapy in the treatment of adults with mental disorders: Theoretical bases and clinical interventions (pp. 86–103). Gilsum, NH: Barcelona Publishers.
56.
ThompsonR. A. (1994). Emotion regulation: A theme in search of definition. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(2–3), 25–52.
57.
ThomsonC. J.ReeceJ. E.Di BenedettoM. (2014). The relationship between music-related mood regulation and psychopathology in young people. Musicae Scientiae, 18(2), 150–165.
58.
TuschlR. J. (1990). From dietary restraint to binge eating: Some theoretical considerations. Appetite, 14, 105–109.
59.
VainikU.NeselilerS.KonstabelK.FellowsL. K.DagherA. (2015). Eating traits questionnaires as a continuum of a single concept: Uncontrolled eating. Appetite, 90, 229–239.
60.
Van den TolA. J. M. (2016). The appeal of sad music: A brief overview of current directions in research on motivations for listening to sad music. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 49, 44–49.
61.
Van den TolA. J. M.EdwardsJ. (2013). Exploring a rationale for choosing to listen to sad music when feeling sad. Psychology of Music, 41(4), 440–465.
62.
Van den TolA. J. M.EdwardsJ. (2015). Listening to sad music in adverse situations: How music selection strategies relate to self-regulatory goals, listening effects, and mood enhancement. Psychology of Music, 43(1), 473–494.
63.
Van den TolA. J. M.EdwardsJ.HeflickN. A. (2016). Sad music as a means for acceptance-based coping. Musicae Scientiae, 20(1), 68–83.
64.
Van den TolA. J. M.Giner-SorollaR. (2016). Listening to ironically-enjoyed music: A self-regulatory perspective. Psychology of Music, 30(5), 73–89.
65.
Van GoethemA.SlobodaJ. (2011). The functions of music for affect regulation. Musicae Scientiae, 15(2), 208–228.
66.
Van StrienT. (2002). The Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ) [Manual]. Bury St. Edmunds, UK: Thames Valley Test Company.
67.
Van StrienT.CebollaA.EtchemendyE.Gutiérrez-MaldonadoJ.Ferrer-GarcíaM.BotellaC.BañosR. (2013). Emotional eating and food intake after sadness and joy. Appetite, 66, 20–25.
68.
Van StrienT.FrijtersJ. E. R.BergersG. P. A.DefaresP. B. (1986). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) for assessment of restrained, emotional, and external eating behavior. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 5(2), 295–315.
69.
WardleW. (1987). Eating style: A validation study of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire in normal subjects and women with eating disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 31(2), 161–169.
70.
WilfleyD. E.SchwartzM. B.SpurrellE. B.FairburnC. G. (1997). Assessing the specific psychopathology of binge eating disorder patients: Interview or self-report? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35(12), 1151–1159.
71.
World Health Organization. (2016). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
