Predictors of anorexia nervosa preoccupation and ritual severity
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine combined and relative contributions of perceived readiness for change, trait anxiety, self-efficacy, and perfectionism on illness severity among adolescents who have met DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa. Another goal was to evaluate the relationship between readiness for change and other factors such as the egosyntonic nature of the disorder and motivation to recover. A final objective was to explore whether factors such as treatment setting and length of treatment had an impact on the aforementioned predictors. The sample consisted of 122 adolescent participants. All of the participants completed the measures online and provided informed consent or assent as well as parental consent (if necessary) prior to beginning the survey. There was a significant correlation between the individual factors of readiness for change, self-efficacy, and perfectionism on illness severity. In addition, there was a significant correlation between egosyntonic nature of the illness as well as motivation to recover on readiness for change. Multiple regression analyses indicated that perceived readiness for change, self-efficacy, trait anxiety, and perfectionism taken together accounted for a significant amount of variance in adolescent anorexia nervosa illness severity. However, only self-efficacy emerged as a significant predictor of illness severity. Taken together, these findings emphasize the need for providers to take the above psychological factors into account when developing treatment plans and targeted interventions for adolescents.
Subject Area
Health sciences|Developmental psychology|Psychology|Clinical psychology
Recommended Citation
Lew, Rebecca Tesser, "Predictors of anorexia nervosa preoccupation and ritual severity" (2013). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3560837.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3560837
