The aims of this study were, first, to examine the structure and validity of the Eating-related Intrusive Thoughts Inventory (INPIAS), a self-report questionnaire designed to assess eating disorders related to intrusive thoughts (EDITs), and second, to explore the existence of a continuum ranging from normal to abnormal thought intrusions related to eating, weight, and shape. Participants were 574 (408 women) nonclinical community individuals. Analyses revealed that EDITs can be clustered into three sets: appearance-dieting, need to exercise, and thoughts-impulses related to eating disorders. EDITs' consequences showed a two-factor structure: emotional consequences/personal meaning and thought-action fusion responsibility; and four factors of strategies: “anxiety,” suppression, obsessive-compulsive rituals, and distraction. The sample was then divided according to reported restrained eating. The High dietary restraint group reported a higher frequency of EDITs, whereas differences in the other factors were mediated by depression, anxiety, and obsessionality. The results suggest that eating disorder-related cognitions are experienced by nonclinical individuals, and distributed on a continuum.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BeckA. T., & SteerR. A. (1993) Manual for the Beck Anxiety Inventory. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
2.
BeckA. T.SteerR. A., & BrownG. K. (1996) Manual for the Beck Depression Inventory. (2nd ed.) San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
3.
BellochA.MorilloC.LuceroM.CabedoE., & CarrióC. (2004) Intrusive thoughts in non-clinical subjects: the role of frequency and unpleasantness on appraisal ratings and control strategies. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 11, 100–110.
4.
BellochA.ReinaN.García-SorianoG., & ClarkD. A. (2009) Clark-Beck Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (CBOCI): validation for their use in a Spanish population. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 14, 1–29.
5.
BollenK. A. (1989) Structural equations with latent variables. Oxford, UK: Wiley.
6.
BrownT. A.CashT. F., & MikulkaP. J. (1990) Attitudinal body-image assessment: factor analysis of the Body-Self Relations Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 55, 135–144.
7.
ClarkD. A., & BeckA. T. (2002) Clark-Beck Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
8.
ClarkD. A.FeldmanJ., & ChannonS. (1989) Dysfunctional thinking in anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 13, 377–387.
9.
ClarkD. A., & RhynoS. (2005) Unwanted intrusive thoughts in nonclinical individuals: implications for clinical disorders. In ClarkD. A. (Ed.), Intrusive thoughts in clinical disorders: theory, research, and treatment. New York: Guilford. Pp. 1–29.
10.
CooperZ., & ShafranR. (2008) Cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, Special Issue: Developments in the Theory and Practice of Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies, 36, 713–722.
11.
HeathertonT. F.HermanC. P.PolivyJ.KingG. A., & McGreeS. T. (1988) The (mis)measurement of restraint: an analysis of conceptual and psychometric issues. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 19–28.
12.
HermanC. P., & PolivyJ. (1980) Restrained eating. In StunkardA. (Ed.), Obesity. Philadelphia: Saunders. Pp. 208–225.
13.
JonesC.HarrisG., & LeungN. (2005) Core beliefs and eating disorder recovery. European Eating Disorders Review, 13, 237–244.
14.
MeyerT. J.MillerM. L.MetzgerR. L., & BorkovecT. D. (1990) Development and validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 487–495.
15.
NasserF.TakahashiT., & BensonJ. (1997) The structure of test anxiety in Israeli-Arab high school students: an application of confirmatory factor analysis with miniscales. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping: an International Journal, 10, 129–151.
16.
Neumark-SztainerD. (2009) Preventing obesity and eating disorders in adolescents: what can health care providers do?Journal of Adolescent Health, 44, 206–213.
17.
PerpiñáC.RonceroM., & BellochA. (2008) Eating-related intrusions in a community sample: development and validation of the eating-related intrusive thoughts INPIAS. Revista De Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 13, 137–158.
18.
PurdonC., & ClarkD. A. (1993) Obsessive intrusive thoughts in nonclinical subjects: I. Content and relation with depressive, anxious, and obsessional symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 713–720.
19.
PurdonC., & ClarkD. A. (1994) Obsessive intrusive thoughts in nonclinical subjects: II. Cognitive appraisal, emotional response, and thought control strategies. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 403–410.
20.
RachmanS. (1981) Part I: unwanted intrusive cognitions. Advances in Behaviour Research and Therapy, 3, 89–99.
21.
RachmanS., & de SilvaP. (1978) Abnormal and normal obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 16, 233–248.
SandínB.ChorotP.ValienteR. M., & LostaoL. (2009) Spanish validation of the PSWQ: factor structure and psychometric properties. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Cliníca, 14, 107–122.
24.
SanzJ., & VázquezC. (1998) Fiabilidad, validez y datos normativos del Inventario para la Depresión de Beck [Reliability, validity, and normative data of the Beck Depression Inventory]. Psicothema, 10, 303–318.
25.
SarasonI. G.PierceG. R., & SarasonB. R. (1996) Domains of cognitive interference. In SarasonI. G.PierceG. R., & SarasonB. R. (Eds.), Cognitive interference: theories, methods, and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Pp. 139–152.
26.
ShafranR.TeachmanB. A.KerryS., & RachmanS. (1999) A cognitive distortion associated with eating disorders: thought-shape fusion. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38, 167–179.
Tanofsky-KraffM., & YanovskiS. Z. (2004) Eating disorder or disordered eating? Non-normative eating patterns in obese individuals. Obesity Research, 12, 1361–1366.
29.
Van StrienT.HermanC. P.EngelsR. C. M. E.LarsenJ. K., & van LeeuweJ. F. J. (2007) Construct validation of the restraint scale in normal-weight and overweight females. Appetite, 49, 109–121.
30.
VerplankenB., & VelsvikR. (2008) Habitual negative body image thinking as psychological risk factor in adolescents. Body Image, 5, 133–140.
