Mediating Factors between Childhood Traumatic Experiences and Eating Disorders Development: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Many people with eating disorders often report having suffered some kind of childhood trauma. For this reason, many studies have attempted to explore the mediating factors between traumatic experiences and the development of eating disorders. The aim of our study is to conduct a systematic review of published works on the mediating factors between childhood trauma and the development of eating disorders. Method: This review was carried out up to 5 December, 2020, using the databases PsycInfo and PubMed, combining the keywords, and applying a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A total of 18 articles were retrieved. After the articles were analyzed, a set of mediating factors between childhood trauma and the development of eating disorders was established, including pathological dissociation, difficulty with emotion self-regulation, body dissatisfaction, negative affect/depression, anxiety, general distress, self-criticism, and alexithymia, among others. Conclusions: In addition to evaluating trauma in eating disorders, these results highlight the importance of paying special attention to the presence of various possible mediating factors, which must be taken into account in the planning of therapeutic treatment. Identifying symptoms of trauma or eating disorders early on could prevent onset of more severe psychopathology during adulthood.

Examination of Relationship of Eating Disorders with Childhood Traumas and Life Satisfaction

“…Ayrıca literatürde travmatik yaşantılarla yeme bozukluklarının birlikte artıp azalma biçimindeki ilişkisi de vurgulanmaktadır (örn. Rabito-Alcón, Baile, & Vanderlinden, 2021;Rabito-Alcón, Baile, Vanderlinden, 2020;Palmisano et al, 2018;Scheffers et al, 2017). Çocukluk çağı ihmali ile bozulmuş yeme davranışı arasındaki ilişkiye dikkat çekilmektedir (Minnich., Gordon, Kwan, Troop-Gordon, 2017).…”

A Multicenter Network Analysis Examining the Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Patients with Eating Disorders versus Their Healthy Siblings

“…The interaction between neurobiological substrates and environmental events is clearer when examining traumatic events (which are recorded more frequently in individuals with an ED), and this interaction might reveal the roles of environmental and genetic factors [ 6 , 7 , 8 ]. A growing body of literature has studied the role of traumatic events in developing EDs, even when the actual effects are still not well understood [ 9 , 10 ]. However, different studies have documented the presence of different biological scars in subjects with EDs and personal histories of maltreatment, in line with the hypothesis of a traumatic echo-phenotype of EDs [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Negative childhood events and the development of the anorexic voice: A grounded theory

“…Despite this, the research is still inconclusive; some studies have found associations whereas some have not, and some researchers suggest associations are overstated (Polivy & Herman, 2002 ; Smyth et al, 2008 ; Villarroel et al, 2012 ). To better understand the possible relationship between childhood adverse experiences and AN, some authors have considered possible mediators such as dissociation (Pugh et al, 2018 ), anxiety and depression (Rabito‐Alcón et al, 2021 ) insecure attachment (Illing et al, 2010 ), and emotional dysregulation (Mills et al, 2015 ). For example, Rabito‐Alcón et al, 2021 suggested that eating disorders may have a variety of functions; eating disorders may function to suppress overwhelming emotions resulting from prior trauma, or may serve as a way of regulating other emotional experiences stemming from trauma, such as anxiety and depression.…”