Investigating the Association between Eating Self-Efficacy and Emotional Eating: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Shame and Guilt in Women with Overweight and Obesity

Tavakoli, Nazli; Seyrafi, Mohammadreza; Manouchehri, Mehdi; Norouzy, Abdolreza; Sarami Foroushani, Gholamreza

doi:10.18502/ijdo.v17i2.18847

Volume 17, Issue 2 (5-2025) IJDO 2025, 17(2): 88-96 | Back to browse issues page

‎ 10.18502/ijdo.v17i2.18847

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Tavakoli N, Seyrafi M, Manouchehri M, Norouzy A, Sarami Foroushani G. Investigating the Association between Eating Self-Efficacy and Emotional Eating: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Shame and Guilt in Women with Overweight and Obesity. IJDO 2025; 17 (2) :88-96
URL: http://ijdo.ssu.ac.ir/article-1-951-en.html

Investigating the Association between Eating Self-Efficacy and Emotional Eating: The Parallel Mediating Roles of Shame and Guilt in Women with Overweight and Obesity

Nazli Tavakoli

, Mohammadreza Seyrafi ^*

, Mehdi Manouchehri

, Abdolreza Norouzy

, Gholamreza Sarami Foroushani

Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Ka.C., Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.

Abstract: (23 Views)

Objective: The study investigated the direct and indirect pathways between eating self-efficacy and emotional eating behavior in women with overweight and obesity, evaluating the parallel mediating roles of shame and guilt related to body and weight.
Materials and Methods: A total of 228 women between the ages of 18 and 70, with overweight and obesity (Body Mass Index≥ 25), were recruited through purposive sampling. Participants completed online questionnaires: Demographic Information Questionnaire (DIQ), Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), Weight- and Body-Related Shame and Guilt Scale (WEB-SG), Weight Efficacy Lifestyle-Short Form (WEL-SF). Descriptive statistics and parallel mediation analysis (PROCESS model 4) with bootstrapping were used to test the hypothesized model. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the data.
Results: Higher levels of eating self-efficacy were directly associated with the lower levels of emotional eating behavior (P< 0.001), and indirectly related to reduced emotional eating by decreased weight- and body-related shame and guilt (P< 0.05). Shame and guilt served as partial, parallel mediators. The model explained 39% of the variance in emotional eating behavior (R²= 0.39).
Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of addressing cognitive and emotional factors in interventions to improve eating behaviors and manage obesity in women, providing actionable insights for healthcare professionals and researchers.

Keywords: Disordered eating behavior, Emotions, Self-Efficacy

Full-Text [PDF 611 kb] (8 Downloads)

Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2025/02/4 | Accepted: 2025/04/29 | Published: 2025/05/31

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