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Girls with anorexia nervosa as young adults: Personality, self‐esteem, and life satisfaction
Author(s) -
Halvorsen Inger,
Heyerdahl Sonja
Publication year - 2006
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.20248
Subject(s) - psychology , self esteem , anorexia nervosa , personality , eating disorder inventory , life satisfaction , clinical psychology , population , temperament and character inventory , young adult , eating disorders , temperament , psychiatry , bulimia nervosa , developmental psychology , demography , psychotherapist , social psychology , sociology
Objective: The current study evaluated personality, self‐esteem, and life satisfaction in former patients with different outcomes of childhood and adolescent‐onset anorexia nervosa (AN). Methods: Forty‐four female patients with AN were assessed 8.5 ± SD 3.4 years after treatment start with a clinical interview and questionnaires including the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and the Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale. Self‐esteem and general life satisfaction in former patients were compared with women in a large population study. Results: Former AN patients with no eating disorder and normal eating attitudes at follow‐up ( n = 21 [48%]) had similar TCI profiles and self‐esteem as samples from normal populations, whereas participants with poorer outcome had significantly lower TCI Self Directedness, self‐esteem, and life satisfaction scores. Life satisfaction was reduced in all outcome groups and was strongly associated with self‐esteem. Conclusion: Personality, self‐esteem, and life satisfaction varied significantly between outcome groups. The results indicate that young patients with AN with a good outcome may have normal personality and self‐esteem features in young adulthood. © 2006 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Int J Eat Disord, 2006