ORCID

https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1917-4409

Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MA in Clinical Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Ernest Hodges

Abstract

For young adults, the transition to college includes increased responsibility and academic pressures, as well as new living environments with same-age peers. The demands of this transition can contribute to increased stress and uncertainty in students, resulting in engagement of behaviors that negatively impact physical and mental well-being. Among these behaviors include disordered eating. In this project, we sought to better understand individual and social risk factors for developing disordered eating behaviors. We measured a cognitive process that can occur within the self (rumination) or between the self and others (co-rumination), two concepts previously linked to other internalizing disorders, including anxiety and depression. Our aims were 1) to examine links between rumination and co-rumination with disordered eating outcomes and 2) to determine whether friendship features moderate (co-)rumination-disordered eating associations. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire of nine self-report measures administered in Qualtrics via St. John’s University Sona Systems, a comprehensive research platform. Hierarchical multiple regression and simple slope analyses were conducted using R v 6.2. Findings indicated that rumination predicted all three dependent variables, whereas co-rumination independently predicted increased dietary rules and broad eating disorder symptomatology. In addition, positive friendship features, including help, security, closeness, and companionship, moderated the associations between both rumination and co-rumination with body appreciation. These results imply that there are both individual and social risk factors for disordered eating variables. They also suggest that there may be a negative component to having strong relationships with peers, in that it may exacerbate the relationship between rumination and disordered eating behaviors. It also suggests, however, that the absence of strong friendship weakens the association between body-related co-rumination and levels of body appreciation.

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