The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating effects of resilience on the relation between interpersonal stress and binge eating behavior in female college students.

We investigated the relationships among interpersonal stress, resilience, and binge eating behavior of 213 female college students, and examined the moderating effects of resilience and its subcomponents (sense of control, sociality, and positivity) on the relationship between interpersonal stress and binge eating behavior through hierarchical multiple regression analysis.

Firstly, interpersonal stress indicated significant negative correlation with resilience and indicated significant positive correlation with binge eating behavior. Resilience and binge eating behavior indicated significant negative correlation. Secondly, resilience did not moderate the relation between interpersonal stress and binge eating behavior of female college students. However, the sense of control, an aspect of resilience, moderated the relationship between interpersonal stress and binge eating behavior of female college students.

The results of this study suggest that higher interpersonal stress may increase the risk for binge eating behavior and that higher resilience may protect against binge eating behavior. The sense of control, an aspect of resilience, may enhance associations between interpersonal stress and binge eating behaviors in female college students.