Questionnaires assessing heavy drinking and binge eating were administered to 58 women with alcohol problems. A sub-sample of the binge-eaters then participated in qualitative interviews about their perceptions of the connections between their two problems. Seventy-one percent self-identified as binge-eaters with most reporting ‘severe’ binge eating. Binge-eaters were younger, more frequent drinkers and drank more often for emotional relief than non-binge-eaters. Binge eating and heavy drinking appeared to serve similar functions in a given client (i.e. emotional relief or reward functions). We discuss implications of the findings for the development of better treatments for women struggling with both health issues.
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