Association between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Eating Disorders: The Role of Post-Traumatic Symptoms and Emotional Dysregulation

Journal title MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA
Author/s Elena Camisasca
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/1
Language Italian Pages 19 P. 75-93 File size 144 KB
DOI 10.3280/MAL2026-001005
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This study aims to examine, in a clinical sample, the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the distortion of body perception typical of eating disorders, investigating in particular the role of post-traumatic symptoms and emotional dysregulation as serial mediators. The study participants were 79 patients (aged 18-28) recruited from three Italian centers specializing in the treatment of eating disorders. Participants were divided into two diagnostic subgroups: Restrictive Anorexia Nervosa (AN-R; n = 32) and Binge Bulimia, which includes eating disorders with bulimic manifestations (BB; n = 47). Patients were administered the following self-report instruments: Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE Scale), International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ). Data indicating the high prevalence of ACEs (and in particular family violence and emotional abuse) in both the AN-R and BB clinical subgroups confirm the central role of early relational trauma in the development of eating psychopathology. The study results also highlight a significant indirect effect between ACEs and altered body perception in cases of eating disorders, through the serial mediation of post-traumatic symptoms and emotional dysregulation.

Keywords: Adverse Childhood Experiences, Eating Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Emotional Dysregulation

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Elena Camisasca, Dalle esperienze infantili avverse (ACE) ai disturbi del comportamento alimentare: il ruolo dei sintomi post-traumatici e della disregolazione emotiva in "MALTRATTAMENTO E ABUSO ALL’INFANZIA" 1/2026, pp 75-93, DOI: 10.3280/MAL2026-001005