The role of loneliness, social isolation and mentalization in the relationship between childhood traumas and eating attitudes

In this study, it was aimed to examine the serial mediation effects of mentalization, loneliness and social isolation in the relationship between childhood trauma experiences and eating attitudes and emotional eating. A total of 598 adults aged between 18 and 25 years participated in the study. 190 of the participants stated that they had a physiological disorder that could affect their eating attitudes. Data were collected from the participants using demographic form, Childhood Trauma Scale, Mentalization Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Social Isolation Scale, Eating Attitudes Test and Dutch Eating Behaviors Questionnaire. Serial mediator analyses were conducted using Hayes' Process Macro V4.1, Model 6, 5000 repeated sample method with 95% confidence interval. Analyses were first performed for the whole group and then repeated for the group with and without physiological disease. According to the results of the analysis for the whole group, it was observed that mentalization and loneliness played a serial mediating role between trauma and eating attitude, and mentalization and social isolation played a serial mediating role in the relationship between all trauma sub-dimensions except emotional abuse and eating attitude and emotional eating. As a result of the analyses conducted for the group with and without a physiological disease, it was observed that the serial mediation analyses were not significant for the group with physiological disease, and all analyses except for the physical and sexual abuse sub-dimension for the group with disease were in the same direction with the analyses conducted for the whole group. The results obtained were discussed within the framework of the information in the literature.