Interpersonal dysfunction and affect-regulation difficulties in disordered eating among men and women Suman Ambwani a, ⁎, Jennifer D. Slane b,c , Katherine M. Thomas d , Christopher J. Hopwood d , Carlos M. Grilo e a Department of Psychology, Dickinson College, P.O. Box 1773, Carlisle, PA 17013, USA b VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, 3950 Allequippa St., Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA c University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 200 Lothrop St., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA d Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 316 Physics Rm. 262, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA e Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA abstract article info Article history: Received 22 January 2014 Received in revised form 16 July 2014 Accepted 21 August 2014 Available online 28 August 2014 Keywords: Interpersonal functioning Negative affect Emotion regulation Disordered eating Gender differences Although several studies suggest that negative affect and interpersonal problems serve as important contributors for eating-related problems, much of this research has been conducted among women and less is known about their roles in precipitating and maintaining eating problems among men. Previous studies with undergraduate men suggest that difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with disordered eating even after controlling for differences in body mass index (BMI) and negative affect. The present study sought to replicate these findings and extend them to assess any unique variance explained by problems in interpersonal functioning among both men and women. Participants were men (n = 213) and women (n = 521) undergraduates at a large Midwestern university who completed a demographic information form, the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q), the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Short Circumplex Form (IIP-SC). A series of hierarchical regression anal- yses indicated that DERS and IIP-SC significantly predicted EDE-Q global scores after controlling for variability in BMI and negative affect and that the results were similar for men and women. Our findings offer preliminary sup- port for models that highlight emotional vulnerability and interpersonal problems for disordered eating for young adult men. Future research extending these findings among treatment-seeking samples and employing multi-method assessment would serve to further clarify the tenability of these theoretical models for both men and women. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Almost half of college women report binge-eating, self-induced vomiting, laxative/diuretic use, fasting, or excessive exercise to com- pensate for food consumption or avoid weight gain at least weekly (Berg, Frazier, & Sherr, 2009) and a significant percentage of college men also report eating disorder (ED) symptoms (Cain, Epler, Steinley, & Sher, 2012; Whiteside et al., 2007). Nonetheless, the factors associat- ed with EDs among men are poorly understood (Slane, Burt, & Klump, 2010) and research is required to identify an appropriate theoretical framework for their disordered eating. Research examining the influ- ence of empirically-supported factors such as affective and interperson- al difficulties on disordered eating among both men and women would facilitate an understanding of their relative influence and any potential sex differences. Several domains of affective functioning are associated with disor- dered eating in women including atypical attitudes toward emotional expression (Meyer, Leung, Barry, & De Feo, 2010), increased negative affect (Ringham, Levine, Kalarchian, & Marcus, 2008), poor emotion recognition and facial expression processing (Cserjési, Vermeulen, Lénárd, & Luminet, 2011), and emotion avoidance/suppression (Davies, Schmidt, Stahl, & Tchanturia, 2011). Moreover, problems with the functional modulation of negative affect significantly contribute to binge-eating (Whiteside et al., 2007) and are central characteristics of anorexia nervosa (AN; Safer & Chen, 2011). Indeed, according to the negative affect model of disordered eating, binge-eating functions as a distraction from aversive emotions (Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991). Similarly, the cognitive–interpersonal maintenance model suggests that AN symptoms promote affective numbing and avoidance to main- tain illness symptoms (Schmidt & Treasure, 2006). These studies and theories highlight difficulties in regulating emotions as risk and mainte- nance factors for disordered eating in women. Few studies have examined emotion regulation difficulties and disordered eating among men. According to one study, problems with emotion regulation accounted for signi ficant variance in ED symptomatology over and above body mass index (BMI) and negative affect among college men (Lavender & Anderson, 2010). Similarly, Eating Behaviors 15 (2014) 550–554 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 717 245 1255. E-mail address: Ambwanis@dickinson.edu (S. Ambwani). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2014.08.005 1471-0153/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Eating Behaviors