Exploring the relationship between coping strategies and binge eating in nonclinical adolescents

Abstract

The aims of the study were to determine the rate of binge eating and examine the relationship between binge eating and coping in nonclinical adolescents. A total of 1913 adolescents completed the Bulimic Investigatory Test, Edinburgh, the Adolescent Coping Scale (ACS), the Youth Self-Report and additional questions regarding the binge-eating episodes. Of the total sample, 6.94% reported bingeing in the last 6 months. The adolescents who binge eat reported a more frequent use of Intropunitive avoidance and Introversion and a less frequent use of Positive-effortful coping compared with those who do not binge eat. However, when the effects of age and depression were controlled in the analysis, the groups only differed in the Positive and Intropunitive avoidance dimensions of coping. Training adolescents on how to cope with stress in a more constructive manner may be a possible strategy for the prevention of maladaptive eating patterns in adolescents. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.