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Introduction to a special issue on child and adolescent feeding and eating disorders and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder
Author(s) -
Eddy Kamryn T.,
Thomas Jennifer J.
Publication year - 2019
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.23052
Subject(s) - eating disorders , psychology , operationalization , anorexia nervosa , psychological intervention , food intake , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , medicine , philosophy , epistemology
Objective We are very pleased to introduce a special issue of the International Journal of Eating Disorders on child and adolescent feeding and eating disorders and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Method Contributions focused on five main themes: (1) the definition and assessment of ARFID; (2) the clinical phenomenology of ARFID; (3) similarities and differences between ARFID and anorexia nervosa (AN); (4) novel treatments for ARFID; and (5) new ideas for improving treatment outcomes in AN. Results These papers highlight the importance of clear operationalization and measurement of the ARFID diagnostic criteria. ARFID phenotypes bear both similarities and important differences in clinical profile, course, and outcome from AN. Findings suggest the utility of adapting existing treatments for restrictive eating disorders to apply to ARFID and engender clinical creativity to move beyond existing treatments and develop novel interventions that address the heterogeneity of ARFID. Furthermore, burgeoning understanding of ARFID offers the potential that novel treatments for ARFID may also be applied to improve outcomes for AN. Discussion This collection of papers features child and adolescent feeding and eating disorder patient groups that have been understudied and we hope that this catalyzes clinical research in these important presentations.