Influence of alcohol on the cognitive processing of self-relevant information, body image, and food consumption in women with eating disorders

There is ample evidence that the comorbidity rates for alcohol problems and eating disorders, particularly bulimia nervosa and perhaps the binge-purging subtype of anorexia nervosa, are higher than would be expected in the general population. The purpose of the present study was to examine the applicability of a self awareness model of alcohol consumption (Hull, 1981) to understanding why this relationship exists. I hypothesized that alcohol intoxication would interfere with the cognitive processing of information related to body shape and food for women with subclinical and clinical levels of body image and eating concerns. As a result of this cognitive interference, alcohol intoxication would reduce negative self awareness, and thus, reduce body image concerns and increase food consumption. To test this hypothesis, I recruited thirty women with subclinical and clinical levels of eating and body shape concerns. First, the participants completed a modified version of the Stroop word color task and several measures of body image concerns. Following completion of these baseline dependent measures, the participants were randomly assigned to an alcohol or placebo condition. Participants in the alcohol condition consumed a moderate amount of alcohol (.8 grams alcohol per kg body weight), while participants in the placebo condition were told they were receiving alcohol but were given a placebo drink. Participants then completed the dependent measures a second time and engaged in an ice cream taste rating task to measure the effect of intoxication on food consumption. Contrary to the study hypotheses, alcohol intoxication had no significant effect on cognitive processing of food or shape related words, body image concerns, or food consumption.