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A taste of (dis)trust: do social cynicism and gratitude predict and reciprocate addiction-like eating?

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Background: Addiction-like eating, characterized by impaired impulse control over food consumption and intense food cravings, is closely linked to overweight and poses both physical and mental health risks. Drawing on a social cognitive perspective, this study examined whether and how social beliefs (i.e., social cynicism) and social emotions (i.e., gratitude) are associated with addiction-like eating and tested their longitudinal interplay.
Methods: A two-wave longitudinal survey with a six-month interval was administered via an online crowdsourcing platform in mainland China. At Wave 1 (W1), the sample comprised 1448 adults (50% females, Mage = 32.46 years, SD = 7.72), of whom 660 remained at Wave 2 (W2). Cross-lagged panel modeling was conducted to examine the reciprocal associations among social cynicism, gratitude, and addiction-like eating over time.
Results: Social cynicism at W1 predicted higher levels of addiction-like eating at W2 (β = 0.07, p = .008), and vice versa (β = 0.08, p = .012). Gratitude at W1 predicted lower addiction-like eating at W2 (β = –0.10, p < .001), whereas W1 addiction-like eating predicted reduced W2 gratitude (β = –0.05, p = .031). Moreover, a significant unidirectional path was observed from gratitude at W1 to reduced W2 social cynicism (β = –0.16, p < .001).
Conclusions :Findings revealed a bidirectional link between lower gratitude/higher social cynicism and greater risks of addiction-like eating. Targeted intervention strategies such as gratitude-centered reappraisal may serve as a complement to traditional symptom-focused approaches in addressing addiction-like eating patterns.

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Journal of Eating Disorders, 2026, vol. 14

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Articles publicats en revistes (Ciències Clíniques)

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A taste of (dis)trust: do social cynicism and gratitude predict and reciprocate addiction-like eating?