The Relationship between Maladaptive Self-Focused Attention and Disordered Eating: The Mediating Effect of Body Dissatisfaction and the Moderating Effect of Mindfulness

Background: Maladaptive self-focused attention is a known psychological risk factor for disordered eating. However, the mechanisms underlying this association, including the mediating role of body dissatisfaction and the moderating role of mindfulness, remain unclear.Methods: A total of 528 Korean adults aged 19∼39 completed self-report questionnaires assessing maladaptive self-focused attention, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and mindfulness. Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were conducted using the PROCESS macro (Models 4 and 14), controlling for gender, age, BMI, marital status, and dieting status.Results: Maladaptive self-focused attention indirectly influenced disordered eating through body dissatisfaction, whereas its direct effect was not statistically significant. Mindfulness moderated the association between body dissatisfaction and disordered eating, such that the relationship was weaker among individuals with higher mindfulness. Subscale analyses indicated that the “nonjudging” and “acting with awareness” facets attenuated this pathway, whereas the “observing” facet counterintuitively strengthened it.Conclusions: Body dissatisfaction appears to be a central mechanism linking maladaptive self-focused attention to disordered eating. Mindfulness—particularly the facets of nonjudging and acting with awareness—may buffer this risk. These findings highlight the potential of mindfulness-based interventions to mitigate cognitive–affective pathways underlying disordered eating.