Behaviourally assessed negative urgency is uniquely associated with binge‐eating frequency

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveBinge eating appears to be associated with impulsivity, especially in response to negative affect (i.e., negative urgency). However, negative urgency is typically assessed via self‐report, which captures only some aspects of urgency and may be subject to bias. Few studies have examined impulsivity following experimental manipulations of affect in binge‐eating samples.MethodIn the present study, individuals who engage in regular binge eating completed a behavioural impulsivity (go/no‐go) task with high‐ and low‐calorie food stimuli, once following negative affect induction and once following neutral affect induction.ResultsGreater behavioural impulsivity to high‐calorie food cues while in a negative (and not a neutral) affective state was associated with more frequent binge‐eating behaviour. Further, this behavioural measure of negative urgency uniquely accounted for variance in binge‐eating frequency when controlling for self‐reported negative urgency, suggesting that behavioural measures may be a useful complement to self‐report measures.DiscussionThese findings provide novel and compelling evidence for the relationship between negative urgency and binge eating, highlighting negative urgency as a potentially important target for intervention.