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Thesis
Fear of weight gain versus drive for objective thinness: do motivations for dietary restraint moderate bulimic pathology?
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Nov 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011267
Abstract
Bulimia nervosa (BN) is characterized by recurrent binge eating and compensatory behaviors driven by rigid cognitive rules about eating and concerns about weight. The Drive for Thinness (DFT) subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) is commonly used to assess motivation for dietary restraint. However, prior research suggests that the DFT may primarily measure a fear of weight gain similar to the Goldfarb Fear of Fat Scale (GFFS), rather than a desire to attain thinness. The Drive for Objective Thinness (DFOT) scale was developed to assess the distinct motivation to reach a body weight 15% below a medically ideal weight and has been shown to distinguish individuals with BN from non-clinical restrained and unrestrained eaters. Despite these findings, the DFOT remains underutilized in BN research. This study examined relationships among DFOT, DFT, and GFFS and their associations with eating disorder (ED) psychopathology in individuals with BN. We hypothesized that all three measures of dieting motivation would show significant relationships with cognitive/affective and eating/weight ED symptoms, and DFOT would show the strongest associations. As exploratory analyses, we examined relationships among DFOT and measures of general psychopathology (e.g., trait anxiety) without a priori hypotheses. Female adults with BN or subthreshold BN (N = 91) completed measures assessing ED psychopathology and weight history. Correlational analyses showed moderate associations between all three dieting motivation measures. Multivariate regression analyses including DFT, GFFS, and DFOT separately revealed that all three measures of dieting motivation were significantly associated with cognitive and affective symptoms. Only DFOT, not DFT or GFFS, was significantly associated with the combined set of eating and weight variables and showed significant positive correlations with BMI and negative correlations with developmental weight suppression and average calories consumed during a binge episode. Only DFT and GFFS, and not DFOT, were significantly and positively associated with EDI Bulimia and several measures of general psychopathology. Findings support that DFT and GFFS measure similar constructs of a desire to avoid weight gain and that DFOT is distinct in its ability to connect both psychological and behavioral symptoms of BN. As both a desire to avoid weight gain and a drive to become very thin are associated with core symptoms of BN, DFOT should be used along with DFT or GFFS in studies of ED psychopathology and to inform clinical interventions.
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Details
- Title
- Fear of weight gain versus drive for objective thinness
- Creators
- Julia Rose Pines
- Contributors
- Michael R. Lowe (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- viii, 48 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022158567204721