Investigating the Association between Eating Self-Efficacy and Emotional Eating: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Shame and Guilt in Women with Overweight and Obesity

Nazli  Tavakoli; Mohammadreza  Seyrafi; Mehdi  Manouchehri; Abdolreza  Norouzy; Gholamreza  Sarami Foroushani

doi:10.18502/ijdo.v17i2.18847

Nazli Tavakoli Ph.D. Student in Health Psychology, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Ka.C., Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
Mohammadreza Seyrafi Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Ka.C., Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
Mehdi Manouchehri Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abdolreza Norouzy Associate Professor, Medical Department, Iran University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Tehran, Iran
Gholamreza Sarami Foroushani Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijdo.v17i2.18847

Keywords: Disordered eating behavior, Emotions, Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Objective: The study investigated the direct and indirect pathways between eating self-efficacy and emotional eating behavior in women with overweight and obesity, evaluating the parallel mediating roles of shame and guilt related to body and weight.

Materials and Methods: A total of 228 women between the ages of 18 and 70, with overweight and obesity (Body Mass Index≥ 25), were recruited through purposive sampling. Participants completed online questionnaires: Demographic Information Questionnaire (DIQ), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), Weight- and Body-Related Shame and Guilt Scale (WEB-SG), Weight Efficacy Lifestyle-Short Form (WEL- SF). Descriptive statistics and parallel mediation analysis (PROCESS model 4) with bootstrapping were used to test the hypothesized model. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data.

Results: Higher levels of eating self-efficacy were directly associated with the lower levels of emotional eating behavior (P< 0.001), and indirectly related to reduced emotional eating by decreased weight- and body-related shame and guilt (P< 0.05). Shame and guilt served as partial, parallel mediators. The model explained 39% of the variance in emotional eating behavior (R2= 0.39).

Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of addressing cognitive and emotional factors in interventions to improve eating behaviors and manage obesity in women, providing actionable insights for healthcare professionals and researchers.