Applying Escape Theory to non-clinical overeating

The aim of the current study was to investigate an application of Heatherton and Baumeister’s (1991) Escape Theory to non-clinical overeating. The sample comprised 178 female student and community members. As hypothesised the Concern over Mistakes and Doubts about Actions (CMDA) aspect of perfectionism (Khawaja and Armstrong, 2005) was positively related to negative affect. Further as predicted, each of the stages of Escape Theory, as operationalised in the current study: the CMDA aspect of perfectionism; aversive self-awareness (a combination of self-esteem and self-awareness); negative affect; and cognitive narrowing (avoidant coping), were all related to overeating. Escape Theory was examined in two parts, using multiple regression, testing for mediation effects. As predicted, aversive self-awareness mediated the relationship between the CMDA aspect of perfectionism and negative affect. Further, as hypothesised, cognitive narrowing mediated the relationship between negative affect and overeating. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings, together with limitations and directions for future research were discussed.