The relationship between individual symptom connectivity and global eating disorder symptom severity

Abstract

Background The network approach has emerged as a useful framework for conceptualizing and investigating psychopathology, including eating disorders. Network connectivity, that is, the density of the connections among network nodes, has been somewhat neglected despite its theoretical relevance. As predicted by network theory, symptom connectivity would be distinct but related to symptom severity and may be a useful clinical indicator of psychopathology as stronger and/or more diffuse connections among symptoms offer more avenues for symptom activation. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between moment‐by‐moment individual‐level symptom connectivity and global levels of symptom severity in the context of eating disorder symptoms and experiences. Methods A sample of 58 female undergraduate college students, mean (SD) age = 20.5 (3.1) provided data on eating disorder symptoms eight times a day over the course of 10 days. Network analyses were used to calculate the eating disorder symptoms network connectivity for each participant. In addition, participants completed survey of self‐report measures of eating disorder symptom severity and trait mindfulness and body image flexibility. Results Analyses revealed a moderate, positive relationship between individual network connectivity and eating disorder symptom severity. In addition, symptom connectivity predicted unique variance of symptom severity even after controlling for other clinically‐relevant variables. Conclusions Individual‐level network connectivity may be an important dimension of psychopathology and further work exploring the role of network connectivity is warranted. Public Significance These findings suggest that symptom severity and the extent to which different eating disorder symptoms are connected are related but different dimensions. Investigating how these different dimensions play a role in eating disorder pathology could help to better understand and treat these disorders.

Examining changes in binge‐eating disorder network centrality and structure in patients treated with cognitive‐behavioral therapy versus interpersonal psychotherapy

“…We—and these previous studies—are unable to address these questions, as our data only allow for estimating between‐subjects networks. However, these questions could be answered by estimating idiographic networks, constructed from intensive longitudinal data collected throughout treatment (e.g., DuBois et al, in press). This would allow for comparison of treatment outcomes and prognosis between patients whose global centrality and pattern of centrality did versus did not change throughout treatment.…”