Associations Among Meaning in Life, Body Image, Psychopathology, and Suicide Ideation in Spanish Participants With Eating Disorders

Objective The aims of this study were to (a) analyze whether participants with eating disorders have lower meaning in life than the nonclinical population; (b) discover whether participants with eating disorders with low meaning in life have more body image disturbances, more psychopathology, and higher suicide ideation than participants with high meaning in life; (c) analyze whether meaning in life is associated with eating disorder psychopathology; and (d) analyze whether meaning in life is able to predict eating disorder psychopathology and suicide ideation, when body image is controlled. Method The clinical sample comprised 247 Spanish participants diagnosed with eating disorders, and the nonclinical sample comprised Spanish 227 participants. Results Participants with eating disorders had lower meaning in life than the nonclinical population. Patients with low meaning in life had higher psychopathology and suicide ideation than participants with high meaning in life. Meaning in life was a significant predictor of the eating disorder psychopathology and suicide ideation. Conclusion Low meaning in life is associated with eating disorder psychopathology in a Spanish sample with eating disorders