Premium
Early predictors of treatment outcome in a partial hospital program for adolescent anorexia nervosa
Author(s) -
Brown Tiffany A.,
Murray Stuart B.,
Anderson Leslie K.,
Kaye Walter H.
Publication year - 2020
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.23343
Subject(s) - psychopathology , anorexia nervosa , psychology , weight change , anorexia , eating disorders , psychiatry , clinical psychology , pediatrics , weight loss , medicine , obesity
Objective Previous research supports the relevance of early symptom change in eating disorder (ED) treatment; however, few studies have distinguished early weight change from early change in ED psychopathology, particularly in higher levels of care. Thus, the present study examined whether early change in weight and ED psychopathology predicted outcome for adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) in a partial hospitalization program. Method Adolescents with AN ( n = 99) completed assessments at admission, 1‐month after treatment admission, discharge, and 6‐month follow‐up. Results Higher admission percent expected body weight (%EBW), greater early change in %EBW, longer duration of treatment, shorter length of illness, and earlier age of onset predicted greater change in %EBW at discharge, but not follow‐up. Greater ED psychopathology at admission and greater early change in ED psychopathology predicted later change in ED symptoms at discharge, but not follow‐up. Neither early change in %EBW nor ED psychopathology predicted likelihood of remission at discharge and follow‐up. Discussion Results support the importance of early change in predicting later change in the same ED outcome variables and suggest that early change in both %EBW and ED psychopathology in adolescents may be an important area for future research.