PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND PERSONALITY OF YOUNG-WOMEN WHO EXPERIENCE FOOD CRAVINGS

The objective of the present study was to investigate the psychopathol ogy and personality characteristics of women who experience food cravi ngs. A total of 101 young women selected at random from the community completed the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies with a trained interviewer. The interview included a section about food-craving exper iences and associated factors. Subjects also completed a self-report q uestionnaire booklet containing the Temperament and Character Inventor y (TCI) and the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI). Compared to noncraver s, women who reported food cravings were significantly more likely to report a history of alcohol abuse/dependence (p = .003), significant w eight changes (p = .003), and to have undertaken dieting (p = .02), bi ngeing (p = .05), vomiting (p = .02), exercise (p = .04), diet pill (p = .03), and laxative use (p = .01) to control weight. There was a tre nd for the cravers to have higher novelty seeking scores on the TCI (p = .06). Our findings suggest that women who experience food cravings are more likely to have met criteria for alcohol abuse/dependence and tend to have temperament characterized by higher levels of novelty see king. In addition the high rates of eating-disorder symptomatology imp lies overconcern with body weight and shape in the women who experienc ed food cravings. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.