Eating attitudes and their relation with drug consumption in a university sample

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Some relations between abnormal eating behaviours and attitudes, and other psychiatric disorders have been found in different populations. This study was carried out to examine the relations between eating attitudes and substance use among university students from Spain. Methods: The EAT and a substance use questionnaire were administered to a sample of 1,089 male and female university students in a cross-sectional design. Results: There were significant differences in drug consumption between students that met cut-off score criteria for the 40 and 26-item versions, and those that did not. Significant differences also emerged between extreme groups (25 vs. 75 percentile) in both EAT versions and in all subscales, especially in the Bulimia and Food Preoccupation subscale. A clearly distinct pattern of differences appeared in male and female students. Conclusions: Outcomes are in consonance with the theories proposed by several authors to explain the etiological relation between eating disorders and substance use.