Objectives

Unfulfilled basic psychological needs have been associated with disordered eating behaviours, but the mechanisms underlying that associations are not well understood. This study examined a two-stage path model linking basic psychological need satisfaction to disordered eating behaviours via issues of control.

Methods

Female university students (N = 323; M_age = 19.61), community participants (N = 371; M_age = 29.75), and women who self-reported having been diagnosed with an eating disorder (ED; N = 41; M_age = 23.88) completed measures of psychological need satisfaction (i.e., autonomy and competence), issues of control (i.e., feelings of ineffectiveness and fear of losing self-control [FLC]), and ED pathology.

Results

Path analysis revealed that unsatisfied needs of autonomy and competence were indirectly related to disordered eating behaviours through feelings of ineffectiveness and FLC.

Conclusions

The results indicate that issues of control might be one of the mechanisms through which lack of psychological need satisfaction is associated with disordered eating. Although the model was constructed using cross-sectional data, these findings suggest potential targets for prevention and treatment efforts aimed at reducing disordered eating in young females.

Practitioner points

Our results indicate that young women with chronically unfulfilled basic psychological needs might be vulnerable to developing disordered eating behaviours. The observed patterns suggest that persistent experience of need frustration may engender an internal sense of ineffectiveness and lack of control, which then compels individuals to engage in disordered eating behaviours in an attempt to regain autonomy and competence. Interventions for eating disorders may be most effective when emphasizing the promotion of people's needs for autonomy and competence. Limitations The model was constructed using cross-sectional data. Future experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the temporal sequence from basic psychological needs to issues of control. The sample only consisted of young women. Further research should explore how thwarting of psychological need satisfaction functions in men. Our clinical sample was small and diagnosis was not confirmed through clinical interview; therefore, those data should be interpreted with caution.