Objective: Anxiety is thought to influence the development and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). However, little is known about how, specifically, anxiety influences ED symptoms and vice versa. Network analysis identifies how symptoms within and across disorders are interconnected. In a network, central nodes (i.e., symptoms) have the strongest relations to other nodes and are thought to maintain psychopathology. Bridge nodes are symptoms in one diagnostic cluster that are strongly connected to symptoms in another diagnostic cluster and are thought to explain comorbidity. We identified central and bridge nodes in a network of ED symptoms and trait anxiety features.Method: We estimated a regularized partial correlation network in patients with mixed EDs (N = 296). ED symptoms were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire. Trait anxiety was assessed with the Trait subscale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Items to include in the network were selected with a statistical algorithm to ensure that all nodes represented unique constructs. Central and bridge nodes were identified with empirical calculations.Results: Central ED nodes were dietary restraint, as well as overvaluation of and dissatisfaction with shape and weight. The central trait anxiety node was low feelings of satisfaction. The strongest ED bridge node was avoidance of social eating. The strongest trait anxiety bridge node was low self-confidence.
Background
Serious mental illness (SMI) can have devastating consequences. Unfortunately, many patients with SMI do not receive evidence-based psychological treatment (EBPTs) in routine practice settings. One barrier is poor “fit” between EBPTs and contexts in which they are implemented. The present study will evaluate implementation and effectiveness outcomes of the Transdiagnostic Intervention for Sleep and Circadian Dysfunction (TranS-C) implemented in community mental health centers (CMHCs). TranS-C was designed to target a range of SMI diagnoses by addressing a probable mechanism and predictor of SMI: sleep and circadian problems. We will investigate whether adapting TranS-C to fit CMHC contexts improves providers’ perceptions of fit and patient outcomes.
Methods
TranS-C will be implemented in at least ten counties in California, USA (N = 96 providers; N = 576 clients), via facilitation. CMHC sites are cluster-randomized by county to Adapted TranS-C or Standard TranS-C. Within each county, patients are randomized to immediate TranS-C or usual care followed by delayed treatment with TranS-C (UC-DT). Aim 1 will compare TranS-C (combined Adapted and Standard) with UC-DT on improvements in sleep and circadian problems, functional impairment, and psychiatric symptoms. Sleep and circadian problems will also be tested as a mediator between treatment condition (combined TranS-C versus UC-DT) and functional impairment/psychiatric symptoms. Aim 2 will evaluate whether Adapted TranS-C is superior to Standard TranS-C with respect to provider perceptions of fit. Aim 3 will evaluate whether the relation between TranS-C treatment condition (Adapted versus Standard) and patient outcomes is mediated by better provider perceptions of fit in the Adapted condition. Exploratory analyses will (1) compare Adapted versus Standard TranS-C on patient perceptions of credibility/improvement and select PhenX Toolkit outcomes and (2) evaluate possible moderators.
Discussion
This trial has the potential to (a) expand support for TranS-C, a promising transdiagnostic treatment delivered to patients with SMI in CMHCs; (b) take steps toward addressing challenges faced by providers in delivering EBPTs (i.e., high caseloads, complex patients, poor fit); and (c) advance evidence on causal strategies (i.e., adapting treatments to fit context) in implementation science.
Trial registration
Clinicaltrials.gov NCT04154631. Registered on 6 November 2019. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04154631
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.