The relationship of 'thought action fusion' and 'thought shape fusion' with eating attitudes

The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of thought action fusion (TAF) and thought shape fusion (TSF) with eating attitudes among non-clinical sample. MOCI (Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory), BDI (Beck Depression Inventory), TSFS (Thought-Shape Fusion Scale), TAFS (Thought-Action Fusion Scale), and EAT-40 (The Eating Attitude Test-40) were administered to 473 university students. For the first part of the study, TSFS was translated into Turkish, reliability and validity studies were completed. According to the results of ANOVA, if the eating attitudes of the university students differ, the degree of thought action fusion also differs, but no significant effect of gender is observed. It is also observed that individuals having pathological eating attitudes showed more TAF characteristics in comparison with the ones having less pathological eating attitudes. But the significant effect of eating attitudes on TAF diminished after depressive and OCD symptoms were controlled. For the subscales of TAF, it is found that the dimensions of TAF-Likelihood-self, TAF-Likelihood-others and TAF-Moral do not differ and the gender does not also have any effect on the sub-dimensions of TAF-Likelihood-self and TAF-Likelihood-others. However, it is found that males have shown more TAF in moral dimension in comparison with females. As for TSF, a significant difference has been observed among the individuals with different eating attitude. More TSF was found for the individuals having pathological eating attitudes than the ones having less pathological eating attitudes. It was also found that this effect has remained when controlling the effects of OCD and depression symptoms. No significant effect of gender has been found. Results indicate that not TAF but TSF has a relation with eating attitudes, without effects of depression and OCD symptoms, and TSF might be peculiar to eating attitudes or disorders.