4. DISCUSSION
This study examined a proposed model accounting for the association between EI and EE. It was hypothesized that anxiety levels mediate the negative association between the two variables. The evidence, collected from a community sample of women dwelling in Israel supported the model, thus taking this budding field of research one small step further by proposing a potential mechanism(that could be one among many) explaining how EI associates with EE.
EE is considered a risk behavior in its own right and a so-called gateway behavior that may lead to eating disorders (Geliebter & Aversa, 2003). Current theory and empirical evidence emphasize the pivotal role of emotions, and more particularly negative emotions in this troubling phenomenon (Greeno & Wing, 1994; Van Blyderveen, Lafrance, Emond, Kosmerly, O’Connor, & Chang, 2016). No wonder, then, that EI, a concept directly associated with how effectively individuals process and manage emotions, shows a negative association with EE (Zysberg & Rubanov, 2010). A few studies supported this association in a variety of settings that included normative participants as well as samples of individuals diagnosed with eating disorders (Markey & Vander Wal, 2007; Zysberg, 2014; Zysberg & Tell, 2013).
What mechanisms account for the negative association between EI and EE? The literature on EE points toward negative emotional experiences as keys to EE symptoms or behaviors. The two most basic negative emotional experiences identified in the psychological literature are stress and anxiety (Folkman, 2013). Although these “usual suspects”—stress and anxiety—were well investigated in other contexts (e.g., Arnow et al., 1995; Wang & Li, 2017), the concept of anxiety has yet to be tested as the underlying mechanism accounting for the impact of EI on EE. Anxiety is a major concept in our understanding of mental and physical health as well as well-being in clinical and nonclinical populations (Bogg & Roberts, 2004; Larcombe, Tumbaga, Malkin, & Nicholson, 2013).
