Appearance and eating-related repetitive negative thinking induction: A pilot study in undergraduates

Background: Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is elevated across a range of internalizing disorders. RNT specifically related to one’s appearance is present in social anxiety disorder, eating disorders, and body image concerns. Despite the clinical relevance of appearance RNT, it has been understudied in experimental research; the current study sought to provide proof-of-concept for an appearance RNT induction to lay the foundation for research manipulating this construct in-lab. Methods: A sample of 40 undergraduate women with elevated eating disorder symptoms completed either a RNT induction task specific to their appearance and eating behaviors (n = 19) or a distraction task (n = 21) during a virtual study visit. Before and after the task, participants rated state negative affect and RNT.Results: Compared to those in the distraction condition, participants in the RNT condition reported increased state RNT and no change in state negative affect.Conclusions: These results provide preliminary evidence that appearance and eating-related RNT can be induced in a virtual experimental setting. Future research should determine whether this appearance and eating-related RNT induction produces similar RNT patterns in individuals without eating and body image concerns and explore the links between state appearance and eating-related RNT and specific symptom domains of eating disorders.