Adolescents who binge eat and drink: the role of emotion regulation

This cross-sectional study examined binge eating and binge drinking behaviors exploring their association with the strategies of Emotion Regulation, such as Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) and Expression Suppression (ES). The sample consisted of 1004 Italian students (395 males and 609 females) attending high school. The average age of the students was 17.9 years (SD =0.8; range: 16–21). They completed self-report measures assessing binge behaviors and Emotion Regulation strategies. No differences resulted between adolescents assuming binge behaviors and no bingers as regards CR; conversely, adolescents engaging in binge eating and in both binge behaviors reported the highest levels of ES. Furthermore, both Emotion Regulation strategies were significant predictors of binge eating. The present study suggested that binge behaviors were strongly associated with adolescent’s ability to evaluate and manage their emotions, so that adolescents may benefit from more precise and specific prevention and treatment approaches focused on training to use more adaptive and effective strategies to regulate their emotions.