Emotional eating in early Jamaican adolescents: the role of remote acculturation, psychological distress and U.S. media

The present study explored emotional eating patterns of youth living in the Caribbean. The aims of this study were to: (1) investigate the correlation between emotional eating and unhealthy eating in Jamaican adolescents (2) evaluate the association between psychological distress (anxiety & depression) and emotional eating as moderated by gender and (3) to determine if remote acculturation mediates the association between consumption of US-produced media and emotional eating. Data were used from the Culture, Health, and Family Life Study, a multidisciplinary exploration of Americanization as a potential risk factor for adolescent obesity in Jamaica. Overall, 330 Jamaican adolescents (210 girls and 120 boys) between the ages of 11 and 18 (M = 13.81, SD = 1.76) completed surveys at three schools in Kingston, Jamaica. Adolescents most commonly reported eating in response to feeling happy (88%), while boredom was the second most common emotion prompting eating (84%). A positive correlation was found between emotional eating and unhealthy eating for girls only. Gender did not moderate the relationship between psychological distress and eating in response to depressive symptoms and no mediation was found. US-produced media consumption on a weekday positively predicted remote acculturation (European American orientation), however, neither US-produced media consumption nor remote acculturation predicted emotional eating