The contribution of difficulties in separation–individuation and emotional regulation to obesity among adolescent girls

Abstract

Obesity has become the leading health problem in the Western World. Although a large number of psychosocial risk factors for the development of obesity have been established this causal relationship is not yet clear. The current study proposes a model that focuses on the psychological mechanisms contributing to the development of obesity. The model shows that girls who did not experience an intact separation process displayed hardship in the process of regulating negative affect. The harm to the emotional regulation processes leads to the girls’ somatic outlet for emotions, in our case emotional eating leading to obesity. Understanding those mechanisms enables proper interventions in preventing and overcoming obesity.

Keywords:

• alexithymia
• emotional regulation
• obesity
• separation–individuation

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrea Book

Andrea Book, who received Ph.D. from the Department of Psychology at Bar-Ilan University, is a rehabilitation psychologist at the orthopedic rehabilitation and oncology wards at Sheba Medical Center and is also running a private clinic.

Ety Berant

Ety Berant is a senior lecturer at and past vice head of the Department of Psychology at Bar-Ilan University and was head of the adult clinical psychology program at Bar-Ilan University. She is a senior clinical psychologist and a licensed supervisor in psychotherapy and psycho-diagnostics at Student Counselling Center, Bar-Ilan University, and is also running a private clinic.