Adult Separation Anxiety and Emotional Eating Among First-Year Students of the Faculty of Dentistry

Abstract

Objective: In our study, the effect of adult separation anxiety on emotional eating levels among first-year students of the Faculty of Dentistry was investigated. The associations between adult separation anxiety and other psychiatric disorders are significant. Methods: A total of 62 first-year dental students participated in the study. Participants were administered a sociodemographic data form, the Adult Separation Anxiety Questionnaire, and the Emotional Eating Scale. Results: A moderate negative correlation was found between separation anxiety and age (r = -0.349, p = 0.006), a moderate positive correlation between emotional eating and body mass index (BMI) (r = 0.476, p < 0.001), and between separation anxiety and emotional eating (r = 0.494, p < 0.001). Separation anxiety predicted emotional eating, and every one-unit increase in separation anxiety was associated with a 0.253-unit increase in emotional eating. Conclusions: The beginning of university is a critical period with increased risk for mental health disorders, making research evaluating psychiatric conditions during this time particularly important. In our study, adult separation anxiety was identified as a significant factor affecting emotional eating. It is crucial to prevent maladaptive coping behaviors and to ensure that mental health disorders are not overlooked during this period.

Keywords

• Adult Separation Anxiety
• Emotional Eating
• Students

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval for the study was obtained from the Non-Interventional Clinical Research Ethics Committee of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University. Ethical principles were adhered to at every stage of the study (Decision No: 2024/52).

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