The relationships between affect, emotion regulation, and overeating in Thai Culture

Abstract

This study aimed to explore whether the relationships between affect and overeating, observed previously in individualistic cultures, could be generalized to a collectivistic culture where the emotional display rules differ. Focusing on Thai population, the study specifically investigated: (1) whether dietary disinhibition would mediate the relationships between affect and overeating behavior, and (2) whether emotion regulation would moderate this relationship. To this end, 298 participants (aged 18-24 years) were recruited from universities in the Bangkok metropolitan region. All participants were asked to complete pen-and-paper measures of affect, emotion regulation, dietary disinhibition, and overeating behaviors. Using a mediated-moderation analysis, results showed that only negative, but not positive, affect had a direct effect on overeating behavior (β = .25, t(295) = 5.20, p < .001). This relationship was mediated by participants' dietary disinhibition (R 2 = .36, β = 82.85, t(295) = 5.20, p < .001). Finally, emotion regulation moderated the relationships between negative affect (β = -.10, t(292) = -2.35, p = .02), dietary disinhibition, and overeating behavior (β= .12, t(292) = 2.49, p = .01). The findings suggest that even in collectivistic cultures, the ability to regulate emotions still serves as a protective factor against excessive food intake. These findings demonstrate the importance of an individual's emotion, emotion regulation, and cognitive pattern that could influence eating behavior. Consequently, the findings have implications for the development of obesity interventions in related cultural settings. © 2018, Behavioral Science Research Institute.