Under Pressure: The Interactive Effects of Coping Self-Efficacy and Minority Stress on Eating Pathology Over Time in Sexual Minority Adults
Tiffany A. Brown
Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States

Introduction: Consistent with minority stress theory, harassment and discrimination contribute to elevated eating disorder (ED) symptoms in sexual minority (SM) adults. Coping self-efficacy may buffer the impact of SM stress on ED symptoms, yet no studies have tested this over time. This study examines how SM coping self-efficacy and SM stress interact to predict ED symptoms in SM adults over one month.
Methods: SM adults (n=334) completed validated measures of SM discrimination and stress, SM coping self-efficacy, binge eating, restricting, and purging at baseline and 1-month follow-up. Hierarchical regressions examined the main and interactive effects of SM stress and coping (steps 2–3) on ED symptoms at 1-month, covarying for baseline ED symptoms (step 1).
Results: Greater baseline SM stress predicted increased binge eating, restricting, and purging (ps <.01), and greater coping predicted lower binge eating (p =.02) at 1-month. Significant stress by coping interactions emerged for binge eating and purging (ps <.05), such that greater coping predicted lower binge eating and purging at low (ps <.04), but not high (ps >.11), SM stress.
Discussion: SM stress and, to a lesser extent, coping self-efficacy predicted ED symptoms over time. Coping may buffer the effects of SM stress on binge eating and purging, but only under low SM stress. Bolstering coping skills to address SM stress through SM-affirmative therapy could foster resilience and help reduce ED symptoms.

Category
Psychological