Childhood maltreatment, shame, psychological distress, and binge eating: testing a serial mediational model

Abstract

Objective: Despite evidence of causal relationships between childhood maltreatment and the development of binge eating disorder (BED), research on mediating mechanisms is lacking. The present study sought to understand the childhood maltreatment-binge eating relationship more fully by examining three types of shame (internal, external, body) and psychological distress as mediators in this relationship. There is evidence that shame and psychological distress are associated with both childhood maltreatment and binge eating pathology. It was hypothesised that shame stemming from childhood maltreatment would contribute to psychological distress, and to binge eating as a dysfunctional emotion regulation strategy, in a serial mediational model. Method: Five hundred and thirty adults with self-reported binge eating symptoms completed an online survey, which included measures of childhood maltreatment, internal shame, external shame, body shame, psychological distress, and binge eating and other eating disorder symptoms. Results: Path analyses showed three specific relationships: (1) a relationship between childhood emotional maltreatment and binge eating, which was serially mediated by internal shame and psychological distress; (2) a relationship between childhood sexual abuse and binge eating, which was mediated by body shame; and (3) a relationship between childhood physical maltreatment and binge eating, which was mediated by psychological distress. We also found a feedback loop, whereby binge eating might lead to increased overvaluation of body shape and weight (possibly due to increased weight) and then to an increase in internal shame and body shame. The final model showed excellent fit for the data. Discussion: Findings extend our understanding of the link between childhood maltreatment and BED. Future intervention research should focus on examining the efficacy of interventions for different forms of childhood maltreatment, based on the key mediating factors.