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Stage of change as a predictor of response to psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa
Author(s) -
Wolk Sara L.,
Devlin Michael J.
Publication year - 2001
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/eat.1058
Subject(s) - psychology , bulimia nervosa , stage (stratigraphy) , cognitive behavioral therapy , psychotherapist , interpersonal psychotherapy , cognitive therapy , dropout (neural networks) , outcome (game theory) , randomized controlled trial , clinical psychology , cognition , psychiatry , eating disorders , medicine , paleontology , mathematics , mathematical economics , machine learning , computer science , biology
Objective This study was designed to test the hypotheses that stage of change is a useful predictor of dropout and that it is related to treatment outcome in patients receiving brief psychotherapy for bulimia nervosa. Method One hundred ten patients with bulimia nervosa were randomly assigned treatment with cognitive‐behavioral therapy (CBT) or interpersonal therapy (IPT). On initial screening, patients were classified as being in the stage of precontemplation, contemplation, or preparation. Results Initial stage of change was not related to dropout either before or following randomization. Among all treatment completers, stage of change was related to outcome. Of the patients assigned to CBT, stage of change was not related to outcome. However, stage of change was related to outcome in patients randomized to IPT. Discussion This study suggests that initial stage of change may, under certain circumstances, be a useful predictor of outcome and that its utility as an outcome predictor may vary according to treatment. © 2001 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 30:96–100, 2001.