CHANGES IN FOOD-INTAKE IN RESPONSE TO STRESS IN MEN AND WOMEN - PSYCHOLOGICAL-FACTORS

The relationship between psychological factors and changes in food int ake during stress (both during a specific experience and during stress , in general) in 49 men, ages 18 to 34, and 52 women, ages 18 to 35, w as assessed using questionnaires. Participants completed the State-Tra it Anxiety Inventory, the Eating Inventory (which includes scales for disinhibition, cognitive restraint and perceived hunger) the Restraint Scale, the Eating Attitudes Test and the Binge Scale, and reported th eir height and weight. Men and women were divided into two groups rega rding changes in eating habits during stress: increased intake and no increased intake. There were no significant differences between gender s in the proportions of participants in each group. However, correlati onal analyses revealed different patterns of associations for males an d females. For females, high scores on disinhibition were significantl y correlated with eating more than usual during a specific stressful e xperience (r=0.51, p<0.001) as well as during stress, in general (r=0. 66, p<0.001), while high scores on cognitive restraint were not. For m ales, neither disinhibition nor cognitive restraint were associated wi th the relationship between eating and stress. Scores on disinhibition discriminated over 80% of females who reported increased intake durin g stress from those who reported no increased intake. In females, the inability to maintain control of self-imposed rules concerning food in take is an important factor in the relationship between stress and eat ing. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.