Shared and Unique Risk Factors for Binge Eating and Binge Drinking in a Community-based Sample of Girls.

Binge eating and binge drinking commonly onset in adolescence and frequently co-occur with one another, especially among females. Understanding shared and unique risk factors for these behaviors can inform etiological models and elucidation of common and specific prevention/intervention targets. We analyzed self-report data from 1,994 participants of the Pittsburgh Girls Study, a population-based longitudinal study of behavioral and emotional development. We used path analysis to examine the impact of age 14 predictor variables on age 16 binge eating and drinking, adjusting for these behaviors at age 14. We hypothesized that greater negative emotionality, sensation-seeking, and impulsivity would be shared risk factors, whereas higher body mass index and thinness expectancies would be unique to binge eating, and positive alcohol expectancies would be unique to binge drinking. Results showed little comorbidity between binge eating and drinking (1.9% at age 14; 4.4% at age 16). Of the three hypothesized shared risks, only age 14 negative emotionality was associated with both binge eating and drinking at age 16; sensation-seeking was associated with binge drinking only and impulsivity was unrelated to either outcome. None of the hypothesized unique risk factors were associated with binge eating. Contrary to hypotheses, positive alcohol expectancies were related to both binge eating and drinking. While this study requires replication and extension to a greater spectrum of putative risk factors, findings suggest that negative emotionality and positive alcohol expectancies, but not impulse control or appearance-related factors, may be viable targets for unified prevention/treatment protocols delivered in community settings.