Primary and secondary control over eating behaviors

The relationships between subjective control, body image, and eating behaviors were examined within the framework of the Optimization in Primary and Secondary Control model (OPS model; Heckhausen, 1999). This model characterizes control as an adaptive and strategic process in which the target of control includes internal as well as external states, and in which the purpose is either to facilitate goal pursuit by engaging with the goal or managing the consequences of goal failure by disengaging from the goal. A convenience sample of 180 Australian women (age: M = 26.49, SD = 5.03) completed the Optimization of Primary and Secondary Control Scale (OPS scale Heckhausen, 1999), as well as measures of attitudinal and behavioral factors comprising Stice's (1994) dual-pathway model of bulimia. A series of path analyses revealed that the control strategies involved in goal engagement are directly associated with increased dietary restraint and purging, whereas the control strategies involved in goal disengagement are indirectly associated with these factors, and with negative affect, by way of reduced body dissatisfaction and reduced frequency of appearance comparisons. These results suggest that goal engagement strategies, which are typically adaptive in other contexts, are associated with potentially hazardous attitudes and behaviors in the context of the body. The results also suggest that an ability to disengage from body weight goals is associated with a reduced likelihood of developing disordered eating.