Fear of negative and positive evaluation predicts abnormal eating behavior: ego depletion as a longitudinal mediator

Evaluative fear, including fear of negative evaluation (FNE) and fear of positive evaluation (FPE) and ego depletion have been identified as psychological correlates of abnormal eating behaviors (AEBs). However, their longitudinal relationships remain unclear. A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted among 351 Chinese college students. Participants completed the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire, the Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale, and the Ego Depletion Scale across three time points. Cross-lagged panel models (CLPMs) were used to examine the longitudinal associations among FNE, FPE, ego depletion, and AEB. Ego depletion significantly mediated the longitudinal associations between both FNE and FPE and subsequent AEB. Specifically, T1 FNE predicted increased T2 ego depletion (β = 0.27, p < .001), which in turn predicted higher T3 AEB (β = 0.08, p < .05). A similar pattern was observed for FPE, with T1 FPE predicting T2 ego depletion (β = 0.29, p < .001), which subsequently predicted T3 AEB (β = 0.09, p < .05). Significant autoregressive effects were observed for all variables. These findings suggest that ego depletion may represent one potential psychological mechanism linking evaluative fear to AEB. Interventions targeting evaluative fear and strengthening self-regulatory functioning may help reduce vulnerability to AEB among college students.