The Relations between Eating Behaviors, Body Appreciation, Problematic Internet Use, and Impulsivity: A Research on Testing Different Structural Models

This study aims to examine the relationships between eating behaviors, body appreciation, problematic internet use, and impulsivity. The study included 828 university students, 583 females (70.4%) and 245 males (29.6%), aged between 18 and 35, with a mean age of 21.08 years (standard deviation = 3.51). Personal Information Form, Three-Factor Eating Behavior Scale, Body Appreciation Scale, Young Internet Addiction Scale Short Form, and Barratt Impulsivity Scale Short Form were used to collect data. Hypothetical and alternative models were developed for structural equation modeling analysis. For the hypothetical model, five models were created: general sample, female sample, male sample, sample group with high body mass index, and sample group with normal body mass index, and it was examined whether problematic internet use and body appreciation mediated the relationship between impulsivity and eating behaviors, and the sample group representing this mediation best was determined by comparing the models between the groups. In the alternative model, it was investigated whether impulsivity mediated the relationship between body appreciation and problematic internet use and eating behaviors in the general sample group, and finally, the model representing the general sample group best was determined by comparing the general sample group in the hypothetical model with the general sample group in the alternative model.

Cite this article as: Gökçen, G., & Traş, Z. (2025). The relations between eating behaviors, body appreciation, problematic internet use, and impulsivity: a research on testing different structural models. Addicta: The Turkish Journal on Addictions, Published online November 7, 2025. doi: 10.5152/ADDICTA.2025.25339.