Abstract

Objectives: Mindfulness-based treatments for binge eating could be enhanced by further understanding the relationship between mindfulness and binge eating. Higher levels of trait mindfulness are associated with lower binge eating symptoms, but it is currently unclear from the literature which mindfulness facets are most relevant to binge eating symptoms. The goal of the current study was to examine the relations between mindfulness, its five facets, and binge eating symptoms. Methods: Female college students (N = 52) completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Binge Eating Scale questionnaires as part of the baseline assessment of a randomized controlled trial. Results: Higher levels of acting with awareness (r = -.36, p < .01), non-judgment (r = -.44, p < .01), and non-reactivity (r = -.47, p < .01) were correlated with lower levels of binge eating symptoms. The observing and describing facets were not significantly correlated with binge eating symptoms. Only non-reactivity was uniquely correlated with binge eating (i.e., over and above the other five-facets) (semi-part r = -.24, p = .05). Conclusions: Findings from the current study suggest that trait mindfulness has medium-to-large size associations with binge eating symptoms. Only the acting with awareness, non-judgment, and non-reactivity facets are significantly correlated with binge eating. Furthermore, the non-reactivity facet of mindfulness appears to be most relevant to binge eating. Notably, given a small non-clinical sample, this research should be replicated in a larger clinical sample.