Test of Stice’s dual pathway model: Dietary restraint and negative affect as mediators of bulimic behavior

The present study was designed to test whether dietary restraint and negative affect mediate the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic behavior. Four hundred and twelve female students completed questionnaires which measured body dissatisfaction, restrained eating, negative affect and bulimic behavior. The results indicated that dietary restraint and negative affect partially mediated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic behaviors. The findings are discussed in light of previous research which suggests that restraint needs to be viewed as a multidimensional construct. Longitudinal studies are now needed to investigate the causal and possible bidirectional nature of the interrelationships in the model tested here.