Skip to main content
ABCT 2023 Annual Convention Main banner
Final Program


Program Flipbook
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Back

Eating Disorders

(PS6-A18) An Empirical Investigation of the Affect Regulation Theory of Compulsive Exercise

Friday, November 17, 2023
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM PST
Location: Regency Ballroom, Level 7
Although exercise is generally considered a health-promoting behavior, when performed in a compulsive manner, it can be harmful. Notably, compulsive exercise is common in individuals with restrictive eating disorders (EDs), affecting up to 80% of individuals with anorexia nervosa. Prominent theoretical models propose that affect regulation is the main psychological reinforcer of compulsive exercise; however, experimental studies testing these models are lacking. The current study aims to descriptively map trajectories of positive and negative affect during an acute (30-minute) bout of exercise amongst individuals with and without compulsive exercise, with future analysis to examine whether and when trajectories of affective change during exercise diverge amongst those with and without this ED feature. Participants include a pilot sample of young women (current n = 28; data collection ongoing) aged 14-22 years presenting with and without restrictive ED symptoms (10 individuals with EDs; 18 healthy controls). Participants were interviewed using the Eating Disorder Examination and self-reported their reasons for exercise engagement using the Compulsive Exercise Test. Additionally, participants completed the Physical Activity Affect Scale (PAAS), assessing their positive and negative affect, before, during (every 5 minutes), and after a 30-minute exercise bout. In healthy controls, mean scores on the Positive Affect subscale of the PAAS were 1.83 before exercise and 2.00 after exercise, and mean scores on the Negative Affect subscale of the PAAS were 0.94 before exercise and 0.72 after exercise. In individuals with EDs, mean scores on the Positive Affect subscale of the PAAS were 1.3 before exercise and 1.5 after exercise, and mean scores on the Negative Affect subscale of the PAAS were 0.9 before exercise and 0.8 after exercise. Future analyses will compare positive and negative affect trajectories amongst individuals with and without compulsive exercise. In sum, with a 30-minute exercise bout, positive affect increased and negative affect decreased in both healthy controls and individuals with EDs, evidence for affective changes accompanying exercise engagement. Increased power and additional analyses will continue to clarify effects.