Childhood trauma as a predictor of eating psychopathology and its mediating variables in patients with eating disorders

Abstract

Early intervention for childhood trauma and depression might contribute to preventing eating disorders in traumatised individuals.

Dopamine-system genes, childhood abuse, and clinical manifestations in women with Bulimia-spectrum Disorders

“…For instance, childhood physical abuse (CPA) and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) have been associated with dissocial and impulsive traits in BN (Steiger et al, 2010), borderline personality disorder (Steiger et al, 1996), and submissiveness (Leonard et al, 2003). Moreover, recent reports suggest that childhood emotional abuse (CEA) is related to eating-disorder symptom severity, and to comorbid depression, affective instability, impulsivity and felt ineffectiveness (Kong and Bernstein, 2009;Groleau et al, 2012).…”

PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF EMOTIONAL EATING: THE ROLE OF ATTACHMENT, PSYCHOPATHOLOGICAL SYMPTOM DISTRESS, LOVE ATTITUDES and PERCEIVED HUNGER

“…Thus it appears when the psychological consequences of difficult experiences are unresolved and persist into adulthood, these experiences may predispose individuals to eating pathologies (Kong and Bernstein, 2008). This interpretation aligns with explanations of attachment insecurity, where psychological histories are implicated in the association between attachment and emotional eating.…”

“…Although research has demonstrated childhood traumas (e.g., emotional and/or physical neglect) are frequently reported in eating disordered populations, researchers (Kong and Bernstein, 2008) suggest negative psychological affect, rather than the traumatic experience itself, may be key to emotional eating tendencies. Thus it appears when the psychological consequences of difficult experiences are unresolved and persist into adulthood, these experiences may predispose individuals to eating pathologies (Kong and Bernstein, 2008).…”

Posttraumatic Eating Disorders (PTED): Perceived Causal Relations Between Trauma-related Symptoms and Eating Disorders

“…Exposure to trauma may contribute to general psychobiological dysregulation, which could increase vulnerability to a number of psychiatric disorders (Yehuda, 2001). Furthermore, a number of recent studies have identified emotion dysregulation (Michopoulous, Powers, Moore, Villarreal, Ressler, & Bradley, 2015;Mills, Newman, Cossar, & Murray, 2014;Racine & Wildes, 2015) and depression (Michopoulos et al, 2015;Kong & Bernstein, 2009) as mediators in the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and disordered eating in adulthood. In particular, emotional abuse has been strongly implicated in the prediction of emotion dysregulation (Kong & Bernstein, 2009;Racine & Wildes, 2015) and emotional maltreatment is an increasingly identified form of childhood maltreatment in Canada.…”

“…Furthermore, a number of recent studies have identified emotion dysregulation (Michopoulous, Powers, Moore, Villarreal, Ressler, & Bradley, 2015;Mills, Newman, Cossar, & Murray, 2014;Racine & Wildes, 2015) and depression (Michopoulos et al, 2015;Kong & Bernstein, 2009) as mediators in the relationship between childhood trauma exposure and disordered eating in adulthood. In particular, emotional abuse has been strongly implicated in the prediction of emotion dysregulation (Kong & Bernstein, 2009;Racine & Wildes, 2015) and emotional maltreatment is an increasingly identified form of childhood maltreatment in Canada. A recent study found that emotional maltreatment is detected nearly twice as often in situations where abuse and neglect is also reported and emotional abuse reports are two to three times more frequent than reports of emotional neglect (Chamberland, Fallon, Black, & Trocmé, 2011).…”