Abstract
The current mixed method study aimed to examine (1) the types of body-related discrepancies that college-aged women face, (2) the association between women’s motivation for eating regulation and intent to engage in healthy and disordered eating following such experiences, and (3) the mediating role of affect and compensation strategies in these relationships. Thematic analysis of narratives from a body-related self-discrepancy recall task revealed that Canadian college-aged women (N = 398) experience discrepancies related to the appearance and care of their bodies. These experiences were more likely to occur in a non-social-evaluative setting. A path analysis revealed that autonomous eating regulation was associated with healthy eating intentions, whereas controlled eating regulation was associated with disordered eating intentions following a recalled body-related discrepancy. These distinct pathways were partly explained by levels of self-compassion and selection of distinct behavioral and cognitive compensation strategies. Findings suggest that those with autonomous eating regulation possess a resource, self-compassion, which aids self-regulation following body-related threats.