Adaptive and Maladaptive Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Disordered Eating in Young Adults
Abstract
Background: Perceived stress is identified as a key risk factor for disordered eating among young adults. However, the mechanism behind this relationship remains inconclusive. This study evaluated whether adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies mediate the relationship between perceived stress and multiple facets of disordered eating
Methods: A sample of 750 young adults (Mage=20.10, SD=3.69; 81.7% women) completed validated self-report measures assessing perceived stress (PSS-10), coping styles (Brief-COPE), and eating pathology (EPSI). Parallel mediation models evaluated indirect effects, controlling for depression and anxiety symptoms (DASS-21).
Results: Linear regressions indicated that higher perceived stress significantly predicted higher scores across all subscales of the EPSI (p<.001). Parallel mediation models revealed that maladaptive coping significantly mediated the associations between perceived stress and both body dissatisfaction (β=.14, 95%CI [.09, .19]) and dietary restriction (β=.18, 95%CI [.12, .24]). However, adaptive coping showed no significant indirect effect for either pathway. Gender-stratified models indicated stronger direct associations across eating pathology dimensions in women than in men.
Conclusions: Maladaptive coping mechanisms serve as a primary statistical pathway through which perceived stress relates to body dissatisfaction and restricting behaviours in young adults. Prevention and clinical interventions on university campuses should target the reduction of maladaptive coping strategies to mitigate stress-associated eating pathology.
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BibTeX
@misc{hooke2026adaptive,
title = {{Adaptive and Maladaptive Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Disordered Eating in Young Adults}},
author = {Jasmine Hooke and Stella Kozmer and Cassandra Lowe},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/ghe4d_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/ghe4d_v1/},
note = {CC0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Adaptive and Maladaptive Coping Strategies as Mediators of the Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Disordered Eating in Young Adults
AU - Jasmine Hooke
AU - Stella Kozmer
AU - Cassandra Lowe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/ghe4d_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/ghe4d_v1/
AB - Background: Perceived stress is identified as a key risk factor for disordered eating among young adults. However, the mechanism behind this relationship remains inconclusive. This study evaluated whether adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies mediate the relationship between perceived stress and multiple facets of disordered eating Methods: A sample of 750 young adults (Mage=20.10, SD=3.69; 81.7% women) completed validated self-report measures assessing perceived stress (PSS-10), coping styles (Brief-COPE), and eating pathology (EPSI). Parallel mediation models evaluated indirect effects, controlling for depression and anxiety symptoms (DASS-21). Results: Linear regressions indicated that higher perceived stress significantly predicted higher scores across all subscales of the EPSI (p<.001). Parallel mediation models revealed that maladaptive coping significantly mediated the associations between perceived stress and both body dissatisfaction (β=.14, 95%CI [.09, .19]) and dietary restriction (β=.18, 95%CI [.12, .24]). However, adaptive coping showed no significant indirect effect for either pathway. Gender-stratified models indicated stronger direct associations across eating pathology dimensions in women than in men. Conclusions: Maladaptive coping mechanisms serve as a primary statistical pathway through which perceived stress relates to body dissatisfaction and restricting behaviours in young adults. Prevention and clinical interventions on university campuses should target the reduction of maladaptive coping strategies to mitigate stress-associated eating pathology.
ER -