(PS14-3) Relationships Between Dimensions of Pleasure and Eating Disorder Symptom Domains in a Community Sample

Background: Anhedonia, or loss of pleasure, is observed across a range of psychiatric illnesses, including eating disorders (EDs). Despite evidence suggesting overall anhedonia in individuals with EDs, it is unclear whether low pleasure is associated with specific cognitive and behavioral ED symptom domains. Furthermore, the majority of research on anhedonia in EDs has conceptualized pleasure as a unidimensional construct, but neurobiologically-informed models of pleasure and reward suggest that it is multifaceted and involves both anticipatory (i.e., looking forward to pleasant stimuli) and consummatory (i.e., enjoying pleasant stimuli) components. Identifying the relationships between these aspects of pleasure and specific ED symptoms will lead to a more precise characterization of the role of anhedonia in EDs, which can inform the development of novel interventions that target anhedonia and reward-related differences in this population.

Methods: A sample of 146 adults recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk completed baseline self-report questionnaires assessing anticipatory and consummatory pleasure and depressive symptoms. Participants then completed a self-report questionnaire assessing eight ED symptom areas four to six weeks after their baseline survey.

Results: Hierarchical linear regression was used to test whether Time 1 depressive symptoms (step 1) and anticipatory and consummatory pleasure (step 2) predicted ED symptoms at Time 2. When controlling for depression, anticipatory pleasure (but not consummatory pleasure) was associated with increased body dissatisfaction (b = .28, p </em>< .001), excessive exercise (b = .17, p = .002), and muscularity concerns (b = .17, p = .002). Greater binge eating at Time 2 was associated with higher anticipatory pleasure (b = .26, p < .001) but lower consummatory pleasure (b = -.16, p = .05) at Time 1. Similarly, increased purging at Time 2 was associated with higher anticipatory pleasure (b = .17, p = .003) and lower consummatory pleasure (b = -.15, p = .04) at Time 1. Neither anticipatory nor consummatory pleasure were associated with cognitive restraint, dietary restriction, or negative attitudes toward obesity.

Conclusions: These results are consistent with theoretical models of EDs characterized by binge eating and/or purging that propose that individuals with binge eating may experience heightened anticipatory pleasure or motivation to obtain rewards (particularly food stimuli), but do not have corresponding elevations in consummatory pleasure, which may contribute to beliefs that binge eating, purging, or excessive exercise will alleviate anhedonia or negative affect. Importantly, these data were collected using a community sample with a low frequency of ED symptoms; replicating this study in a clinical sample will provide further valuable insight into how these relationships may differ in individuals with and without ED diagnoses.