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The development of the P‐CAN, a measure to operationalize the pros and cons of anorexia nervosa
Author(s) -
Serpell Lucy,
Teasdale John D.,
Troop Nicholas A.,
Treasure Janet
Publication year - 2004
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.20040
Subject(s) - operationalization , anorexia nervosa , psychology , eating disorders , measure (data warehouse) , cons , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , data mining , programming language , philosophy , epistemology , computer science
Objective Research has suggested that a fundamental aspect of anorexia nervosa (AN) is its egosyntonic nature, the fact that it is often valued by individuals with the disorder. The current study describes the development of the P‐CAN, a quantitative measure of both positive (valued) and negative aspects of AN. Method Items were derived from a previous qualitative study (Serpell, Treasure, Teasdale, & Sullivan. 1999. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 25, 177–186). Data from 233 women with AN were subjected to a principal components analysis. Results Ten subscales were identified, six describing the pros of AN and four describing the cons of the illness. Discussion The P‐CAN shows good psychometric properties and should prove a useful tool for the measurement of attitudes towards AN, as well as offer insights into the maintenance of the disorder. © 2004 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 36: 416–433, 2004.