Uncovering the association between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Emotional eating refers to the consumption of food in response to pleasant or unpleasant emotions. This behavior has frequently been linked to emotional dysregulation; however, the results obtained are inconsistent. Therefore, the aim of this meta-analytic study was to conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize the available evidence on the relationship between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating, as well as to identify possible moderators of this association. A systematic search was conducted in March 2025 in the following databases: Scopus, Web of Science, APA PsycInfo, and APA PsycArticles. Inclusion criteria comprised quantitative studies published in English or Spanish, analyzing the broad emotional dysregulation-emotional eating relationship, and reporting sufficient data to extract effect sizes. This systematic search yielded 40 studies and 42 samples (N = 14,481; Mage = 26.8; SDage = 11.6; 67.8% females). The results revealed a positive, moderate association between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating (rpooled = .337 [.279, .396]). The valence of emotional eating and sample type emerged as relevant moderators. The association was stronger when focusing on studies that exclusively analyzed negative emotional eating (rpooled = .286 [.226, .345]) and became nonsignificant for studies addressing positive emotional eating (rpooled = .055 [-.113, .220]). Moreover, the links were stronger for non-clinical samples as compared to clinical ones. This review helps to better understand the association between broad emotional dysregulation and emotional eating and will contribute to preventing and intervening in this problem by developing new and more effective preventive and therapeutic strategies.