The Predictive Model of Eating Behaviour Based on Early Maladaptive Schemas, Personality Disorders, and Coping Styles

Aim and This study aimed to investigate the role of early maladaptive schemas, personality disorders, and coping styles in predicting binge eating behavior.
Methods and Materials: The study subjects included 150 students of Qom Branch, Islamic Azad University with body mass index (BMI) of higher than 25 kg/m2. They were selected through convenience sampling based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. After explaining the purpose of the study, they were asked to fill out the questionnaires. The research tools included the Young-Rygh Avoidance Inventory (YRAI), Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III), Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 3 (YSQ-S3), Binge Eating Scale (BES), and Young Compensation Inventory (YCI). Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation and simultaneous regression in SPSS.
Findings: The abandonment/instability, emotional deprivation, dependence/incompetence, insufficient self-control, emotional inhibition, and defectiveness/shame schemas were able to explain 37.2% of variance in binge eating. In addition, avoidance and compensation coping styles explained 12.3% of variance in binge eating, and borderline, avoidant, and passive-aggressive personality disorders explained 18.5% of variance in binge eating.
It seems that early maladaptive schemas areas of impaired autonomy, inhibition, and limits, especially disconnection and rejection, as well as coping styles, and borderline and passive-aggressive personality disorders have an important role in the pathology and treatment of binge eating disorder. Use of psychological interventions for the reduction of behaviors caused by the mentioned schemas and alterations in the coping style of overweight individuals may accelerate the healing process.