Neuroticism and conscientiousness as predictors of emotional, external, and restrained eating behaviors

Objective: We investigated the extent to which different forms of eating be havior as assessed by the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire are related to facets of the Big Five personality domains. Method: Respondents were 167 psychology students (126 females and 47 males) who volunteered for the stu dy. Results: Body mass index (BMI) and gender had significant main effects on eating behaviors. These results were moderated by a significant BMI x Ge nder interaction on emotional eating. Eating behaviors were significantly r elated to the personality facets associated with Neuroticism and Conscienti ousness. Discussion: The results are discussed with reference to previous r esearch on eating behaviors and the nature of Neuroticism and Conscientious ness. (C) 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.