Hubungan antara Kecemasan dengan Emotional Eating pada Mahasiswa Fakultas Farmasi Universitas Jember

Abstract

Introduction: University students are vulnerable to anxiety due to various academic demands during their studies. Anxiety may influence eating behavior, including emotional eating. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between anxiety and emotional eating among students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember. Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design. The study population consisted of 810 active students from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember. A total of 261 respondents were selected using quota sampling. The inclusion criteria were active undergraduate pharmacy students aged 18–25 years who were willing to participate in the study. Anxiety was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha = 0.867), while emotional eating was assessed using the Emotional Eating subscale of the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) (Cronbach's alpha = 0.846). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Spearman correlation test. Results: Most respondents experienced moderate anxiety (53.3%), followed by severe anxiety (28.0%), mild anxiety (18.4%), and no anxiety (0.4%). The mode of the emotional eating score was 30, with scores ranging from 13 to 65. Spearman correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between anxiety and emotional eating (r = 0.208; p = 0.001). Conclusion: Anxiety was significantly associated with emotional eating among students of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jember. Higher anxiety levels were associated with a greater tendency toward emotional eating, although the relationship was weak.