Positive beliefs about anorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia are associated with eating disorder symptomatology

Abstract

Although preliminary, these findings suggest that, among young men and women, positive beliefs about anorexia nervosa and muscle dysmorphia may contribute to the development and maintenance of these conditions. Some symptoms of muscle dysmorphia may be perceived as ego-syntonic, providing another parallel with anorexia nervosa.

Muscle Dysmorphia Research Neglects DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria

“…Furthermore, two studies in this review (Griffiths et al, 2015;Mitchell et al, 2017) linked MD with eating disorder psychopathology, and two studies (Nieuwoudt et al, 2016;Xinhong et al, 2015) also questioned the current proposed MD criteria. Hence, the support for MD being a specifier for BDD has limited support in the literature after being recognized in the DSM-5.…”

“…Hence, the support for MD being a specifier for BDD has limited support in the literature after being recognized in the DSM-5. A detected trend is the attempt to link MD with more eating disorder psychopathology (Griffiths et al, 2015;Mitchell et al, 2017), and the most frequent relationships with MD amongst the included studies in this systematic review were with symptoms of eating disorders. Such attempts have also been reported prior to 2013 (e.g., Murray, et al, 2010;Murray et al, 2012).…”

“…Three studies (Campagna & Bowsher, 2016;Macik & Kowalska, 2015;Nieuwoudt, Zhou, Coutts, & Booker, 2015) positively associated BDD (DSM-4 criterion utilized) with MD. Two studies neglected BDD criterion, and instead (a) linked MD with anorexia nervosa providing a parallel with eating disorders, and applied the trans-diagnostic model of eating disorders to enhance understanding of MD (Griffiths, Mond, Murray, & Touyz, 2015); and (b) compared MD with eating disorder psychopathology and confirmed the association (Mitchell et al, 2017). Moreover, two studies also questioned the current proposed MD criteria: Xinhong et al (2015) suggested MD might have other influential factors other than the ones from BDD and eating disorders, and Nieuwoudt et al (2016) utilized MD diagnostic criteria by Pope et al (1997), and BDD DSM-4 criterion, providing evidence to question the acceptance of the proposed MD criteria (see Table 1 for an overview of all results).…”

The Science Behind the Academy for Eating Disorders' Nine Truths About Eating Disorders

“…Individuals with eating disorders may fail to report the psychological components of eating disorders or have poor insight into their level of impairment (Dalle Grave, Calugi, & Marchesini, ; Griffiths, Mond, Murray, & Touyz, ; Nordbø et al, ; Santonastaso et al, ; Vandereycken, , ). However, psychological features are often present, even if at milder levels, (Carter & Bewell‐Weiss, ) with some variation across cultures (Lee, Lee, Ngai, Lee, & Wing, ; Pike & Dunne, ) and in younger patients (Carter & Bewell‐Weiss, ; Norris et al, ) (Tables S3 and S4).…”

The Effects of Stigma on Recovery Attitudes in People With Anorexia Nervosa in Intensive Treatment

“…In contrast to other mental illnesses, AN evokes significant envy and admiration of the person with AN for achieving weight loss and obtaining self-control over eating (Geerling and Saunders, 2015;Holliday et al, 2005;Katterman and Klump, 2010;Maier et al, 2014;Mond et al, 2006;Roehrig and McLean, 2010;Stewart et al, 2006;Zwickert and Rieger, 2013). Researchers have begun to shift their attention from examining stigma from the perspective of the general public to investigating the internalization of stigma in those experiencing and living with this mental illness (Griffiths et al, 2015a(Griffiths et al, , 2015b). Internalized stigma, or self-stigma (terms will be used interchangeably throughout the paper), occurs when individuals with mental illnesses begin to direct stigmatizing attitudes held by the general public towards themselves (Corrigan and Watson, 2002;Ritsher and Phelan, 2004).…”