Date
12-16-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Kevin Ganey
Keywords
Eating Disorders, Delay of Gratification, Self-control
Disciplines
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Grambusch, Monica D., "Delay of Gratification and Relationship to Eating Disorders" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7780.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7780
Abstract
Delay of gratification has been studied across a wide range of topics, with a typical association with positive traits for self-control and behavior adaptation. This study focuses on eating disorders and Delay of Gratification to understand the contradictory nature it may have related to eating disordered behaviors. The Eating Attitudes Test (26), Delay of Gratification Inventory, and a demographics survey were conducted online, screening for participants over 18 years of age with self-reported previous eating disorders. This quantitative study focused on two research questions. Research Question 1 examined if there was a relationship between Delay of Gratification scores and selfreported Eating Disorders. The study did not find a significant relationship between eating disorders and Delay of Gratification, χ2 ([96], N = [114]) = [108.91], p = [.173]. Research Question 2 examined data for a relationship between individual components, the subscales (social, food, physical, achievement, and money) of Delay of Gratification and self-reported Eating Disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Avoidant Restrictive Eating Disorder, and Other Specified Eating Disorder). A Crosstab Eta analysis showed a weak association between both food and money subscales and no association with physical, social, and achievement subscales. MANOVA analysis found no significant findings amongst individual self-reported eating disorders in relation to the individual subscales. The findings of this study did not find any significant relationships with self-reported eating disorders and Delay of Gratification. Further studies should focus on individual eating disorders, potential subscale associations, and longitudinal studies effect of delay of gratification changes after treatment.
