Body dissatisfaction, ruminative thinking, food and alcohol disturbance, and alcohol use outcomes among college students.

Research shows that body dissatisfaction can contribute to risky alcohol use and negative alcohol-related consequences among college students. The present study examined if rumination and engagement in food and alcohol disturbance (FAD; i.e., disordered eating behaviors used to compensate for alcohol-related calories [FAD-calories] or enhance alcohol's effects [FAD-intoxication]) are potential mechanisms indirectly linking body dissatisfaction to alcohol use and related consequences in college students. Specifically, we tested whether higher body dissatisfaction relates to greater alcohol use/consequences via greater ruminative thinking (i.e., problem-focused thoughts, anticipatory thoughts, counterfactual thinking, and repetitive thoughts) and FAD frequency by motive (FAD-intoxication and FAD-calories). College students (N = 3362; Mage = 19.47, SD = 2.24; 70.2 % female; 61.5 % White non-Hispanic) from six U.S. universities who reported past-month alcohol use completed measures of body dissatisfaction, rumination, FAD, alcohol outcomes, BMI, and negative affect. Our estimated path model (i.e., body dissatisfaction → rumination facets → FAD frequency by motive → alcohol use quantity/consequences; covarying for BMI and negative affect) showed two significant double-mediated associations. Specifically, greater body dissatisfaction was associated with more alcohol use quantity/consequences via greater endorsement of problem-focused thoughts and both FAD motives. These findings suggest that those who experience body dissatisfaction may ruminate more (particularly engaging in problem-focused thoughts); which in turn may relate to more frequent engagement in FAD-intoxication and/or FAD-calories, which subsequently may contribute to more alcohol use and related consequences. Interventions looking to reduce FAD and alcohol-related harms should target both body image dissatisfaction and ruminative thinking.