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Predictors of weight change in juvenile anorexia nervosa
Author(s) -
Strober Michael,
Bowen Ellen,
Preble M. N. Judy
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
international journal of eating disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.785
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1098-108X
pISSN - 0276-3478
DOI - 10.1002/1098-108x(198511)4:4<605::aid-eat2260040419>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - psychology , anorexia nervosa , anorectic , eating disorders , developmental psychology , conceptualization , juvenile , body weight , weight gain , clinical psychology , endocrinology , medicine , artificial intelligence , biology , computer science , genetics
A multiple‐regression format was used to examine the power of clinical, familial, and premorbid variables in predicting weight change in 65 adolescent females with anorexia nervosa. Four variables—premorbid obesity, family disruption, body image distortion, and obsessive‐compulsive tendencies—were shown to have independent predictive significance, each associated with a lesser degree of weight gain. Results suggest that restoration of body weight in the anorectic is impeded by rigidity of basic defenses, deficits in the regulatory control of drive and affect states, and intrafamilial tensions. Implications for treatment and theoretical conceptualization of etiological mechanisms of this disorder are discussed.