Abstract
Many Canadians experience eating disorders (ED: persistent eating/eating-related behaviour disturbance impairing physical/psychosocial health), with incidence rates rising since the COVID-19 pandemic. Physical activity is a common compensatory behaviour (CB) to offset/counteract (over)eating among this population. Although ED theory links body-related self-conscious emotions (BRSCE) with CB, and both are associated with poor mental health (MH), the extent to which CB and BRSCE are experienced by MH status is understudied. This study explored differences in BRSCE and CB based on MH. Participants (N=565; 61% female, 46% university educated, Mage=35, SD=1.0) completed a self-report survey assessing MH (poor to excellent), BRSCE (shame, guilt, envy, embarrassment, authentic pride, hubristic pride) and CB (never to very often). Group differences were analyzed with multivariate analysis of variance. BRSCE and CB differed significantly based on MH, F(4, 590)=2.78, p<.001, np2=.08. Participants with poor-fair MH reported higher shame, guilt, envy, and embarrassment and lower authentic pride than those with very good-excellent MH (d=.58 to –2.62). Compensatory physical activity was reported more frequently by participants with good-excellent MH than those with poor MH (d=.67 to .80). Findings highlight that participants with poorer MH experience heightened negative and diminished positive BRSCE. Participants with better MH report heightened engagement in physical activity as a CB compared to those with poor MH. MH is an important risk factor for ED prevention efforts, but further research is needed to clarify understandings of the nuanced relationships between emotions, CB, and MH.
