MINDFULNESS AND EATING DISORDERS: THE MEDIATION ROLE OF DYSMORPHIC CONCERNS

Abstract Background: Research has shown that mindfulness may foster body satisfaction (Lavender et al., 2012), and may reduce problematic behaviors such as body comparison, which seems to be pivotal in dysmorphic concerns (Dijkstra & Barelds, 2011) and eating disorders (Hamel et al., 2012). However, there is a paucity of studies observing the direct relation between mindfulness and dysmorphic concerns, with the latter potentially being a risk factor for eating disorders (Kollei et al., 2013). Even if several studies suggest that mindfulness may play an important role in the prevention and reduction of risk factors in eating disorders, a deeper knowledge is still needed (Beccia et al., 2018; Sala et al., 2020). Objective: The goal of this study was to assess whether the relationship between mindfulness and eating disorders would be mediated by dysmorphic concerns. Method: 288 individuals aged between 18 and 35 years old (M = 26.36; SD = 4.49) were recruited on social media platforms and filled an online survey comprising: the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Italian Body Image Concern Inventory (I-BICI), and the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26). A structural equation modelling (SEM) with latent variables was used to test a model with mindfulness as predictor variable, dysmorphic concerns as mediator, and eating disorders as outcome. Results: The hypothesized model showed good fit indices: χ2(24) = 49.45, p = .002; CFI = .99, RMSEA = .06 (90% CI = .04 – .09), SRMR = .03. Significant paths were found from mindfulness to dysmorphic concerns (β = -.37) and from dysmorphic concerns to eating disorders (β = .51), but a non-significant path was found from mindfulness to eating disorders (β = -.04). However, the indirect relation of mindfulness with eating disorders through dysmorphic concerns was statistically significant (β = -.19). Conclusions: The results suggest that individuals low in mindfulness may be more prone to develop dysmorphic concerns. Indeed, the promotion of behaviors characterized by intentional, judgment-free attention towards one's current sensations may protect against behaviors characterized by maladaptive body-related sensations and thus preoccupations towards one’s body (Bahreini et al., 2022; Lavell et al., 2018), which have been shown to contribute to the development and maintenance of eating disorders (Peat et al., 2008; Striegel-More et al., 2004). Implementation of mindfulness-based programs to reduce dysmorphic concerns is needed to improve clinical management of eating-related psychopathologies.