Affective Response to Binge Eating as a Predictor of Treatment Outcomes for Binge-Eating Disorder

In this report, we examined baseline affective response to binge eating as a predictor of binge-eating disorder (BED) treatment outcome. Baseline affective response was defined as (a) each individual’s average net change (i.e., area under the curve [AUC]) of positive affect (PA) or negative affect (NA) before and after binge-eating episodes and (b) slope of PA or NA after binge eating across 7 days of ecological momentary assessment. Adults with BED completed integrative cognitive-affective therapy (ICAT-BED) or cognitive behavioral therapy-guided self-help (CBT-gsh). Individuals with greater net increases in PA (AUC) after binge eating at baseline exhibited better treatment response in ICAT-BED at end of treatment and follow-up. NA affective response was significant only at end of treatment; individuals with less rapid postbinge improvements in NA (slope) did better in ICAT-BED, whereas individuals with lower net improvements in NA (AUC) did better in CBT-gsh. Affective response to binge eating may be a marker of BED treatment response.