Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar;27(2):803-812.
doi: 10.1007/s40519-021-01221-5. Epub 2021 May 31.

Personality traits and night eating syndrome in women with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder

Natasha D Melunsky  1 , Francesca Solmi  1 , Zoë Haime  1 , Sarah Rowe  2 , Virginia V W McIntosh  3 , Janet D Carter  3 , Jennifer Jordan  4   5
Affiliations

Personality traits and night eating syndrome in women with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder

Natasha D Melunsky et al. Eat Weight Disord. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: Previous research suggests that eating disorders may be associated with certain personality profiles; however, there is limited research investigating associations with night eating syndrome (NES). This research suggests harm avoidance personality trait is higher in NES individuals than in the general population, however, evidence of associations with other personality traits is inconsistent. To understand which personality traits are associated with NES symptoms, the current study aimed to improve understanding of the relationship between NES symptoms and a range of personality traits, addressing limitations in the earlier literature in this area by controlling for common confounders.

Methods: Baseline data were analysed from an outpatient psychotherapy trial for 111 women with bulimia nervosa or binge eating disorder. Pre-treatment measures of personality traits (measured with the Temperament and character inventory-revised) and NES symptoms (measured with the Night eating questionnaire) were used. Regression analyses tested associations between these variables, adjusting for potential confounders, including age and ethnicity.

Results: Low cooperativeness scores were associated with greater NES symptoms in the multivariable model (mean difference: - 0.10, 95% confidence intervals: - 0.20 to - 0.01, p = 0.033). There was weak evidence of associations between both high harm avoidance and low self-directedness personality traits and greater NES symptoms.

Conclusions: This study adds to the limited research measuring associations between a range of personality traits and NES, addressing limitations of previous research. Weak evidence for an association between high harm avoidance and low self-directedness and increased NES symptoms was found. A novel association was found between low cooperativeness and greater NES symptoms. Further research is needed to validate its presence in those with and without comorbid eating disorders and to examine the relative change in NES, eating disorder symptoms and personality scores in treatments focusing on cooperativeness.

Level of evidence: Level IV (cross-sectional data from a randomised controlled trial, CTB/04/08/139).

Keywords: Binge eating disorder; Bulimia nervosa; Eating disorders; Night eating syndrome; Personality; Trait.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Stunkard AJ, Grace WJ, Wolff HG. The night-eating syndrome: a pattern of food intake among certain obese patients. Am J Med. 1955;19(1):78–86. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(55)90276-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Association AP. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 5. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2013.
    1. Milano W, De Rosa M, Milano L, Capasso A. Night eating syndrome: an overview. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2011;64(1):2–10. doi: 10.1111/j.2042-7158.2011.01353.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. McCuen-Wurst C, Ruggieri M, Allison KC. Disordered eating and obesity: associations between binge-eating disorder, night-eating syndrome, and weight-related comorbidities. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2018;1411(1):96–105. doi: 10.1111/nyas.13467. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tu CY, Tseng MC, Chang CH. Night eating syndrome in patients with eating disorders: Is night eating syndrome distinct from bulimia nervosa? J Formos Med Assoc. 2019;118(6):1038–1046. doi: 10.1016/j.jfma.2018.10.010. - DOI - PubMed