%D 2025
%O © 2025 Springer Nature. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
%C United States
%I SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
%L discovery10205209
%K Autism, Eating disorder, Body image, Alexithymia, Interoception
%X This study investigated the mechanisms underlying disordered eating of autistic adults, by investigating associations between eating disorder (ED) symptoms and autistic traits; autism-specific atypical eating; alexithymia; interoception; and body image in autistic and non-autistic participants. Autistic adults (n = 196) and non-autistic adults (n = 206) completed online self-report measures assessing ED pathology, atypical eating, body image dissatisfaction, interoception, alexithymia, and autistic traits. Structural Equation Modelling tested a theoretical model of the relationships between these variables, and whether these relationships were moderated by autism diagnosis. Autistic adults self-reported higher ED pathology than non-autistic adults. The proposed model and the strength of the relationship between body image and ED pathology did not differ between the autistic and non-autistic groups. Atypical eating (not related to over-evaluation of weight/shape), however, was only associated with ED pathology in the autistic group. Both traditional and additional factors, including eating disturbances not driven by weight/shape concern, appear to contribute to ED pathology in autism.
%T The Relationship Between Interoception, Alexithymia, Autistic Traits and Eating Pathology in Autistic Adults
%A Heather Westwood
%A Will Mandy
%A Rebecca Brewer
%J Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders