The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers
Abstract Background Exercise addiction (EA) and eating disorders (ED) frequently co-occur in both professional and amateur athletes, with up to 48% of individuals with EA also exhibiting symptoms of ED. Furthermore, pathological attachment styles have been linked to both EA and ED. The current study...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Eating Disorders |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00855-3 |
| _version_ | 1797454136970575872 |
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| author | Dalit Lev Arey Adi Sagi Asaf Blatt |
| author_facet | Dalit Lev Arey Adi Sagi Asaf Blatt |
| author_sort | Dalit Lev Arey |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Exercise addiction (EA) and eating disorders (ED) frequently co-occur in both professional and amateur athletes, with up to 48% of individuals with EA also exhibiting symptoms of ED. Furthermore, pathological attachment styles have been linked to both EA and ED. The current study aimed to explore the unique association between types of insecure attachment styles (i.e., anxiety or avoidance) and EA and ED. Method Four hundred and five Israelis (199 women, 206 men) who were recreational exercisers (i.e., exercised at least four hours a week for at least one year) with ages ranging from 18 to 78 (M = 38, SD = 12.31) completed a set of questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Exercise Addiction Inventory, and the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale. Path analysis was used to simultaneously examine the associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with EA and ED symptoms. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were specified as independent variables predicting ED and EA symptoms and were entered into the analysis as two parallel dependent variables. Results The results of the study indicate that attachment anxiety is positively associated with symptoms of EDs, while the association between attachment anxiety and symptoms of EA is not significant. On the other hand, attachment avoidance shows a positive association with symptoms of exercise addiction, but no significant association with symptoms of EDs is found. Conclusions These results imply that the anxious attachment regulation strategy is highly associated with body image concerns. Furthermore, individuals characterized by avoidance attachment manifest regulation strategies through excessive exercise. Scholars and practitioners could use these results to examine dispositional risk factors for insecure attachment styles and to assess specific pathologies among the population of recreational exercisers. The study also discusses limitations, future directions, and implications in detail. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:32:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2b98eeae388640e48125f632db33159a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-2974 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T15:32:55Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Eating Disorders |
| spelling | doaj.art-2b98eeae388640e48125f632db33159a2023-11-26T12:06:46ZengBMCJournal of Eating Disorders2050-29742023-08-0111111010.1186/s40337-023-00855-3The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisersDalit Lev Arey0Adi Sagi1Asaf Blatt2School of Psychology, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-YaffoSchool of Psychology, The Academic College of Tel Aviv-YaffoSchool of Behavioral Sciences, College of Management Academic StudiesAbstract Background Exercise addiction (EA) and eating disorders (ED) frequently co-occur in both professional and amateur athletes, with up to 48% of individuals with EA also exhibiting symptoms of ED. Furthermore, pathological attachment styles have been linked to both EA and ED. The current study aimed to explore the unique association between types of insecure attachment styles (i.e., anxiety or avoidance) and EA and ED. Method Four hundred and five Israelis (199 women, 206 men) who were recreational exercisers (i.e., exercised at least four hours a week for at least one year) with ages ranging from 18 to 78 (M = 38, SD = 12.31) completed a set of questionnaires, including the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), Exercise Addiction Inventory, and the Experiences in Close Relationship Scale. Path analysis was used to simultaneously examine the associations of attachment anxiety and avoidance with EA and ED symptoms. Attachment anxiety and avoidance were specified as independent variables predicting ED and EA symptoms and were entered into the analysis as two parallel dependent variables. Results The results of the study indicate that attachment anxiety is positively associated with symptoms of EDs, while the association between attachment anxiety and symptoms of EA is not significant. On the other hand, attachment avoidance shows a positive association with symptoms of exercise addiction, but no significant association with symptoms of EDs is found. Conclusions These results imply that the anxious attachment regulation strategy is highly associated with body image concerns. Furthermore, individuals characterized by avoidance attachment manifest regulation strategies through excessive exercise. Scholars and practitioners could use these results to examine dispositional risk factors for insecure attachment styles and to assess specific pathologies among the population of recreational exercisers. The study also discusses limitations, future directions, and implications in detail.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00855-3Exercise addictionExercise dependenceEating disordersAddictionPathological exerciseRecreational exercisers |
| spellingShingle | Dalit Lev Arey Adi Sagi Asaf Blatt The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers Journal of Eating Disorders Exercise addiction Exercise dependence Eating disorders Addiction Pathological exercise Recreational exercisers |
| title | The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers |
| title_full | The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers |
| title_short | The relationship between exercise addiction, eating disorders, and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers |
| title_sort | relationship between exercise addiction eating disorders and insecure attachment styles among recreational exercisers |
| topic | Exercise addiction Exercise dependence Eating disorders Addiction Pathological exercise Recreational exercisers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00855-3 |
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