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A cluster analysis of purging disorder: Validation analyses with eating disorder symptoms, general psychopathology and personality
Author(s) -
Krug Isabel,
Granero Roser,
Giles Sarah,
Riesco Nadine,
Agüera Zaida,
Sánchez Isabel,
JiménezMurcia Susana,
PinoGutierrez Amparo,
Codina Ester,
Baenas Isabel,
ValencianoMendoza Eduardo,
Menchón Jose M.,
FernándezAranda Fernando
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
european eating disorders review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.511
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1099-0968
pISSN - 1072-4133
DOI - 10.1002/erv.2769
Subject(s) - psychopathology , psychology , eating disorders , personality , clinical psychology , cluster (spacecraft) , perfectionism (psychology) , psychiatry , vomiting , medicine , social psychology , computer science , programming language
Objectives To assess the natural grouping of Purging Disorder (PD) patients based on purging symptomatology and to evaluate the derived classes (a) against each other and (b) to a control group on a range of clinical and psychological measures. Method Participants included 223 PD women consecutively admitted to a tertiary ED treatment centre and 822 controls. Purging behaviours (self‐induced vomiting, laxative and diuretic use) were used as indicators, while the EDI‐2 (ED symptoms), the SCL‐90‐R (general psychopathology), and the TCI‐R (personality traits) were used as validators. Results Three distinct PD clusters emerged: Cluster 1 (only self‐induced vomiting), Cluster 2 (self‐induced vomiting and laxative use) and Cluster 3 (all purging methods). Significant differences between Cluster 1 and Cluster 3 were found for the EDI‐2 drive for thinness and perfectionism subscales, and the TCI‐persistence scale. All clusters differed significantly from the controls on all the EDI‐2 and the SCL‐90‐R scales, but findings for the TCI‐R scales were less consistent. Conclusions This study adds to a growing literature on the validity and distinctiveness of PD and provides evidence of dimensional symptom differences amongst PD clusters.