Eating Disorders in adolescence: assessment, evidence based treatment and data regarding psychological functioning in a sample of roman adolescents

Journal title QUADERNI DI PSICOTERAPIA COGNITIVA
Author/s Gemma Battagliese, Caterina Lombardo
Publishing Year 2016 Issue 2016/39 Language Italian
Pages 27 P. 42-68 File size 174 KB
DOI 10.3280/QPC2016-039004
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Eating disorders are among the most relevant disorders in adolescence, being often chronic and associated to medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Evidence based treatment suggested in eating disorders are: the Family-Based Treatment, indicated as gold standard for Anorexia Nervosa, Adolescent-Focused Therapy and CBT-E that include within the treatment protocol the work on psychological aspects interfering with the treatment as perfectionism, low self-esteem and interpersonal problems. Aims of the present paper are: to review scientific progress on diagnostic criteria, etiology, assessment and evidence-based treatment of eating disorders in adolescence and to provide data regarding dysfunctional eating behaviors and related psychological functioning in a sample of adolescents aged 14-19 recruited in Rome.Results of the study show that 4% (6.4% female; 1% male) of the adolescents reported scores in the relevant clinical range suggesting high probability that an eating disorder is present. High scores of eating disorder symptoms were negatively associated to self-esteem; positively related to personal and interpersonal problems, emotional dysregulation, perception of inadequacy, and psychological distress. Only in female, high symptomatology were positively associated with perfectionism and hyper-control. It is important, therefore, that clinicians working with this spectrum of disorders in adolescence conduct an adequate evaluation and propose treatments evidence-based taking also into account the psychological functioning associated with the disorder.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, adolescence, evidence- based treatment.

  1. Forsberg S., Lock J. (2016). Eating Disorders. In: Bope E.T., Kellerman N.D., editors, Conn’s Current Therapy. Philadelphia: Elsevier.
  2. Frank G.K.W. (2015). Recent advances in neuroimaging to model eating disorder neurobiology. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17(4): 559.
  3. APA (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.), Amer Psychiatric Pub Incorporated. Bravender T., Bryant-Waugh R., Herzog D., Katzman D., Kreipe R.D., Lask B., Workgroup for Classification of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents. (2007). Classification of child and adolescent eating disturbances. Workgroup for Classification of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents (WCEDCA). The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, Suppl.: S117-22.
  4. Caslini, M., Bartoli F., Crocamo C., Dakanalis A., Clerici M., Carra G. (2016). Disentangling the Association Between Child Abuse and Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychosomatic Medicine, 78(1): 79-90. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.000000000000023
  5. Chen E.Y., Weissman J.A., Zeffiro T.A., Yiu A., Eneva K.T., Arlt J.M., Swantek M.J. (2016). Family-Based Therapy for Young Adults with Anorexia Nervosa Restores Weight. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 49(7): 701-7.
  6. Cooper Z., Stewart A. (2008). CBT-E and the younger patient. In: Fairburn C.G., editor, Cognitive behavior therapy and eating disorders. New York: Guilford Press.
  7. Copeland W.E., Bulik C.M., Zucker N., Wolke D., Lereya S.T., Costello E.J. (2015). Does childhood bullying predict eating disorder symptoms? A prospective, longitudinal analysis. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48(8): 1141-9.
  8. Dalle Grave R., El Ghoch M., Sartirana M., Calugi S. (2016). Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa: An Update. Current Psychiatry Reports, 18(1): 1-8.
  9. Davis C. (2015). The epidemiology and genetics of binge eating disorder (BED). CNS Spectrums, 20(6): 522-9. DOI: 10.1017/S109285291500046
  10. Degortes D., Zanetti T., Tenconi E., Santonastaso P., Favaro A. (2014). Childhood obsessive-compulsive traits in anorexia nervosa patients, their unaffected sisters and healthy controls: a retrospective study. European Eating Disorders Review: The Journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 22(4): 237-42.
  11. Dingemans A.E., van Furth E.F. (2015). EDNOS is an eating disorder of clinical relevance, on a par with anorexia and bulimia nervosa. Tijdschrift Voor Psychiatrie, 57(4): 258-64.
  12. Fairburn C.G., Harrison P.J. (2003). Eating disorders. Lancet, 361(9355): 407-16. doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12378-1
  13. Federici A., Wisniewski L., Ben-Porath D. (2012). Description of an Intensive Dialectical Behavior Therapy Program for Multidiagnostic Clients With Eating Disorders. Journal of Counseling & Development, 90(3): 330-338.
  14. Goldstein M., Murray S.B., Griffiths S., Rayner K., Podkowka J., Bateman J.E., Thornton C.E. (2016). The effectiveness of Family-Based Treatment for full and partial adolescent anorexia nervosa in an independent private practice setting: Clinical outcomes. The International Journal of Eating Disorders.
  15. Herpertz-Dahlmann B. (2015). Adolescent eating disorders: update on definitions, symptomatology, epidemiology, and comorbidity. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 24(1): 177-96.
  16. Herpertz-Dahlmann B., van Elburg A., Castro-Fornieles J., Schmidt U. (2015). ESCAP Expert Paper: New developments in the diagnosis and treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa – A European perspective. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24(10): 1153-67.
  17. Hilbert A. (2013). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for binge eating disorder in adolescents: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials, 14: 312. DOI: 10.1186/1745-6215-14-31
  18. Hilbert A., Pike K.M., Goldschmidt A.B., Wilfley D.E., Fairburn C.G., Dohm F.-A., Sysko R. (2014). Risk factors across the eating disorders. Psychiatry Research, 220(1-2): 500-6.
  19. Hoek H.W., van Elburg A.A. (2014). Feeding and eating disorders in the DSM-5. Tijdschrift Voor Psychiatrie, 56(3): 187-91.
  20. Hurst K., Zimmer-Gembeck M. (2015). Focus on perfectionism in female adolescent anorexia nervosa. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48(7): 936-41.
  21. Juarez L., Soto E., Pritchard M.E. (2012). Drive for muscularity and drive for thinness: the impact of pro-anorexia websites. Eating Disorders, 20(2): 99-112. DOI: 10.1080/10640266.2012.65394
  22. Kesselmeier M., Putter C., Volckmar A.-L., Baurecht H., Grallert H., Illig T., GCAN and WTCCC3 (2016). High-throughput DNA methylation analysis in anorexia nervosa confirms TNXB hypermethylation. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry: The Official Journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry, 1-13. DOI: 10.1080/15622975.2016.119003
  23. Lazarevic´ J., Batinic´ B., Vukosavljevic´-Gvozden T. (2016). Risk factors and the prevalence of anorexia nervosa among female students in Serbia. Vojnosanitetski Pregled, 73(1): 34-41.
  24. Lipsky R.K., McGuinness T.M. (2015). Binge Eating Disorder and Youth. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 53(8): 18-22. DOI: 10.3928/02793695-20150720-0
  25. Lock J., La Via M.C., American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Committee on Quality Issues (CQI), R., Saraf, M., Gull, W., Silverman, J., Group, F.B.N.C.S. (2015). Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with eating disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(5): 412-25.
  26. Lombardo C., Battagliese G., Lucidi F., Frost R.O. (2012). Body dissatisfaction among pre-adolescent girls is predicted by their involvement in aesthetic sports and by personal characteristics of their mothers. Eating and Weight Disorders: EWD, 17(2): e116-27.
  27. Machado P.P.P., Goncalves S., Hoek H.W. (2013). DSM-5 reduces the proportion of EDNOS cases: evidence from community samples. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 46(1): 60-5.
  28. Micali N., Solmi F., Horton N.J., Crosby R.D., Eddy K.T., Calzo J.P., Bennett-Levy J. (2015). Adolescent Eating Disorders Predict Psychiatric, High-Risk Behaviors and Weight Outcomes in Young Adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(8): 652-659.e1.
  29. NICE (2004). Eating Disorders. Core interventions in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders. NICE Guidelines.
  30. Noetel M., Miskovic-Wheatley J., Crosby R.D., Hay P., Madden S., Touyz S. (2016). A clinical profile of compulsive exercise in adolescent inpatients with anorexia nervosa. Journal of Eating Disorders, 4: 1.
  31. Poppe I., Simons A., Glazemakers I., Van West D. (2015). Early-onset eating disorders: a review of the literature. Tijdschrift Voor Psychiatrie, 57(11): 805-14.
  32. Rancourt D., McCullough M.B. (2015). Overlap in Eating Disorders and Obesity in Adolescence. Current Diabetes Reports, 15(10): 78.
  33. Shih P.B., Woodside D.B., Adan R.A., Vink T., Ando T., Kodama N., Xiao Z. (2016). Contemporary views on the genetics of anorexia nervosa. European Neuropsychopharmacology: The Journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 26(4): 663-73.
  34. Smink F.R.E., van Hoeken D., Hoek H.W. (2013). Epidemiology, course, and outcome of eating disorders. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 26(6): 543-8.
  35. Smink F.R.E., van Hoeken D., Oldehinkel A.J., Hoek H.W. (2014). Prevalence and severity of DSM-5 eating disorders in a community cohort of adolescents. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47(6), 610-9.
  36. Steinglass J.E., Walsh B.T. (2016). Neurobiological model of the persistence of anorexia nervosa. Journal of Eating Disorders, 4: 19.
  37. Steinhausen H.-C., Jakobsen H., Helenius D., Munk-Jorgensen P., Strober M. (2015). A nation-wide study of the family aggregation and risk factors in anorexia nervosa over three generations. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 48(1): 1-8.
  38. Thornton L.M., Mazzeo S.E., Bulik C.M. (2011). The heritability of eating disorders: methods and current findings. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, 6: 141-56. DOI: 10.1007/7854_2010_9
  39. Tsappis M., Freizinger M., Forman S.F. (2016). Binge-eating disorder: emerging treatments for a new diagnosis. Current Opinion in Pediatrics, 28(4): 415-20. DOI: 10.1097/MOP.000000000000036
  40. Westmoreland P., Krantz M.J., Mehler P.S., Sullivan P.F., Harris E.C., Barraclough B., Chagnac A. (2016). Medical Complications of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia. The American Journal of Medicine, 129(1): 30-37.
  41. Wyssen A., Coelho J.S., Wilhelm P., Zimmermann G., Munsch S. (2016). Thoughtshape fusion in young healthy females appears after vivid imagination of thin ideals. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 52: 75-82.

Gemma Battagliese, Caterina Lombardo, I disturbi alimentari in adolescenza: assessment, trattamenti evidence-based e dati relativi al funzionamento psicologico in un campione di adolescenti romani in "QUADERNI DI PSICOTERAPIA COGNITIVA" 39/2016, pp 42-68, DOI: 10.3280/QPC2016-039004