A Study of Relationship Between Loneliness, Emotional Dysregulation, Sense of Control and Binge Eating among Middle Aged Adults in Mumbai

Abstract

Middle aged adults are vulnerable to binge eating due to biases against self and aging body resulting due to challenges like hormonal changes, midlife crises, menopause, career changes, empty nest syndrome and shifts in family dynamics. Research on this period of life is relatively limited, and many aspects of midlife are still relatively unexplored. The current study aims to investigate the predictive relationship between loneliness, emotional dysregulation, sense of control and binge eating among middle aged adults. The study was conducted on 102 middle aged adults residing in Mumbai. Participants completed UCLA Loneliness Scale (version 3), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form (DERS- SF), Sense of Control Scale (SC) and Loss of Control over Eating Scale Brief (LOCES-Brief). Pearson’s product-moment correlation revealed a significant relationship between all variables. Further, regression analysis revealed that loneliness, emotional dysregulation, and sense of control were found to be independent significant predictors of binge eating (p < 0.001). Student’s t-test revealed no gender differences in the amount of binge eating experienced. These results demonstrate the importance of loneliness, emotional dysregulation, sense of control in binge eating amongst middle aged adults. These findings will aid in developing treatment plans for binge eating disorder in middle aged adults.