Shame aversion and maladaptive eating-related attitudes and behaviors

•Examined shame aversion's role in maladaptive eating-related attitudes/behavior.•Expected positive associations found, over and above other explanatory variables.•Shame-proneness only relevant to some attitudes/behavior when shame aversion high.•Implications for current etiological models and therapy targets discussed.

Consistent with affect regulation models of eating-related psychopathology, prior research indicates that trait-like shame and state self-conscious emotion are associated with maladaptive eating-related attitudes/behaviors. The present investigation extended past research on shame and maladaptive eating-related attitudes/behaviors by examining the role of shame aversion — the perception of shame as an especially unwanted and painful emotion — in these attitudes/behaviors over and above shame-proneness, general distress, and experiential avoidance. In 488 female undergraduates, shame aversion was positively associated with dieting, self-perceptions of body shape, awareness of food content, and food preoccupation even after taking into account other possible explanatory variables. Additionally, shame aversion moderated shame-proneness' associations with dieting, awareness of food content, and food preoccupation, such that shame-proneness was positively associated with these attitudes/behaviors only when shame aversion was high. Future directions for research and clinical implications of the present findings are discussed.