Eating disorder psychopathology in adults and adolescents with anorexia nervosa: A network approach

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess and compare eating disorder feature networks in adult and adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa. Methods: Patients seeking treatment for anorexia nervosa in inpatient and outpatient settings were consecutively recruited from Body mass index was measured, and each patient completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire. Results: The sample comprised 547 adolescent and 724 adult patients with anorexia nervosa. Network analysis showed that in both adults and adolescents, the most central and highly interconnected nodes in the network were related to shape overvaluation and desiring weight loss. The network comparison test identified similar global strength and network invariance, confirming the similarity of the two network structures. Discussion: The network structures in adult and adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa are similar, and lend weight to the cognitive behavioral theory that overvaluation of shape and weight is the core feature of anorexia nervosa psychopathology. K E Y W O R D S adolescent, adult, desiring weight loss, eating disorder psychopathology, feeling fat, shape overvaluation

Treatment of Eating Disorders in Adults Versus Adolescents: Similarities and Differences

“…68 Support for the affirmation that eating-disorder psychopathology is essentially the same in all ages comes from the observation that, although some of its features (ie, binge-eating episodes, self-induced vomiting, laxative and diuretic misuse) are more frequent in adults than in adolescents, they are also reported by a many adolescents with eating disorders. 72 This observation explains why, as shown in Table I, all of the main feeding and eating-disorder diagnostic categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) 73 are represented in both adolescent and adult patients, with higher prevalences of BN in adults and of atypical AN in adolescents. Another finding suggesting that eating-disorder psychopathology is similar in adults and adolescents comes from a study that used network analysis for assessing data from 547 adolescent and 724 adult patients with AN 72 ; that study found that desiring weight loss, and shape and weight overvaluation and concern are central nodes with strong connections to all the other eatingdisorder variables investigated in both adult and adolescent networks (Figure 2).…”

“…72 This observation explains why, as shown in Table I, all of the main feeding and eating-disorder diagnostic categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) 73 are represented in both adolescent and adult patients, with higher prevalences of BN in adults and of atypical AN in adolescents. Another finding suggesting that eating-disorder psychopathology is similar in adults and adolescents comes from a study that used network analysis for assessing data from 547 adolescent and 724 adult patients with AN 72 ; that study found that desiring weight loss, and shape and weight overvaluation and concern are central nodes with strong connections to all the other eatingdisorder variables investigated in both adult and adolescent networks (Figure 2). This finding indicates that overvaluation of shape and weight and additional indicators of shape and weight concern are central features in the psychopathology in both adults and adolescents with AN.…”

“…This finding indicates that overvaluation of shape and weight and additional indicators of shape and weight concern are central features in the psychopathology in both adults and adolescents with AN. 72…”

Metacognition and emotion regulation as treatment targets in binge eating disorder: a network analysis study

“…Development of the NA approach over the past decade has provided a theoretical framework that was adopted to identify the central symptoms of different psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder [15], depression [16], obsessive compulsive disorder [17] and schizophrenia [18]. More recently, researchers in the field of eating disorders have applied NA to examine the symptoms of anorexia nervosa [19][20][21][22] and bulimia nervosa [23][24][25].…”

Metacognition and Emotional Regulation as Treatment Targets in Binge Eating Disorder: A Network Analysis Study

“…The development of network approach over the past decade has provided a theoretical framework that was adopted to identify the central symptoms of different psychiatric disorders such as bipolar disorder [15], depression [16], obsessive compulsive disorder [17], or schizophrenia [18]. More recently, researchers in the eld of eating disorders (EDs) have applied NA to examine the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa [19][20][21][22] and Bulimia Nervosa [23][24][25].…”