Symposia
Eating Disorders
April Smith, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Shruti S. S. Kinkel-Ram, M.A.
Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio
William Grunewald, M.A.
Clinical Psychology PhD Student
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Lauren Forrest, Ph.D.
Assistant professor
Penn State College of Medicine
Hershey, Pennsylvania
There is a high prevalence of eating disorders (EDs) among both active duty and veteran military members (Bartlett & Mitchell, 2015). Military membership inadvertently puts both men and women disproportionately at risk for EDs due to risk factors such as strict physical fitness requirements, increased salience of weight, and exposure to trauma (Antczak & Briniger, 2008; Bartlett & Mitchell, 2015; Bodell et al., 2014). More research exploring causal and maintenance factors for EDs in military members is needed as EDs have been understudied in this population. Network analysis is a useful methodology to examine ED pathology as it allows us to identify core features (in other words, “central symptoms”) of a specific disorder (Borsboom, 2017). To our knowledge, no research has examined ED symptoms within a military sample using network analysis. Hence, the aim of the current project was to compute a network of ED psychopathology and identify central ED symptoms in a military sample. This allows for identification of ED symptoms that may maintain core ED pathology in military members. Individuals in the military (N = 210; 73.5% male, Mage=30.68, 86% currently serving) were asked to complete the Eating Pathology Symptom Inventory (EPSI; Forbush et al., 2013). Notably, the EPSI includes subscales assessing ED-related cognitions and behaviors, such as restriction, binge-eating, as well as muscularity concerns and weight stigma, which are not captured by other commonly used ED instruments and thus have not been routinely investigated in previous network analyses. We computed a cross-sectional graphical LASSO network and found that the most central symptoms were not liking how my body looks (strength [S] = 2.88), using diuretics (S = 1.39), planning days around exercise (S = 1.31), pushing self extremely hard while exercising (S = 1.21), and not liking how clothes fit one’s body (S = 1.20). These findings are in line with research suggesting that muscle dysmorphia and preoccupation with building muscle are elevated among military personnel (Campagna & Bowsher, 2016). Further, these results support previous research finding higher rates of laxative, diuretics, and diet pill use in military members as compared to the general population (McNulty, 1997). The results from our network analysis investigation of ED pathology within the military suggest the need to assess for compulsive over-exercise, muscle dysmorphia and diuretics use among military members.