There is a growing interest among scholars in a particular behavior characterized by the co-occurrence of disordered eating and drinking consumption named "drunkorexia". The primary aim of the present research will be to provide first evidence about how adolescents¿ self-reported drunkorexia behaviors relate to their accuracy of mentalization, as assessed by metacognition questionnaires, and emotion regulation. A snow-ball sample of 1.500 Caucasian 15-year-olds and 18-year-olds will participate, attending different kinds of high schools in the centre of Italy (Lazio). Disordered eating symptomatology will be operationalised as drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and bulimic symptoms. Restrictive drinking behaviors during an alcohol consumption event and compensatory behaviors after an alcohol consumption event will be evaluated. Metacognition dimensions will be evaluated with MCQ, and emotion regulation with DERS. The newly research will provide an additional perspective on the drunkorexia literature.
A shared consensus among researchers deals with the positive association between the ability to effectively regulate and manage one's emotion and the engagement in empathic behavior and morally desirable actions (Decety & Jackson, 2006; Eisenberg, 2000; Eisenberg, Smith, Sadovsky, & Spinrad, 2004; Hein, Röder, & Fingerle, 2016). When specific emotion regulation strategies are considered, Laghi and colleagues (2017) found, in a group of adolescents, that metacognition moderates the negative association between emotion regulation and drunkorexia. In particular, this association is significant only for low and overage tendency to reappraise. Results of the present research could perform in the service of reducing negative affective and facing psychological distress during adolescence. The results could provide, in support of previous findings, valuables additional information regarding the strong association between metacognition, emotion regulation, and adolescent well-being. Furthermore, considering that drunkorexia is a significant risk factor for mortality, the current results could be useful for programs concerned with promoting positive youth development. Certainly, results of this study should be considered in the context of some limitations. First, all of the information concerning experiences and behaviors of participants will be obtained through self-report measures. Second, the cross sectional design of the research will not permit causal inferences. Results need to be examined longitudinal research to provide the potential long-term effects and the implications of emotion regulation, metacognition as protective factors for psychosocial outcomes in adolescents. The present study could have implications for future empirical investigation and also for clinical intervention.