Self-Discrepancy and Eating Disorder Symptoms Across Eating Disorder Diagnostic Groups.

Abstract

This study examined self-discrepancy, a construct of theoretical relevance to eating disorder (ED) psychopathology, across different types of EDs. Individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN; n = 112), bulimia nervosa (BN; n = 72), and binge eating disorder (BED; n = 199) completed semi-structured interviews assessing specific types of self-discrepancies. Results revealed that actual:ideal (A:I) discrepancy was positively associated with AN, actual:ought (A:O) discrepancy was positively associated with BN and BED, and self-discrepancies did not differentiate BN from BED. Across diagnoses, A:O discrepancy was positively associated with severity of purging, binge eating, and global ED psychopathology. Further, there were significant interactions between diagnosis and A:O discrepancy for global ED psychopathology and between diagnosis and A:I discrepancy for binge eating and driven exercise. These results support the importance of self-discrepancy as a potential causal and maintenance variable in EDs that differentiates among different types of EDs and symptom severity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

Department

Description

Provenance

Subjects

anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, eating disorders, self-discrepancy

Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1002/erv.2483

Publication Info

Mason, Tyler B, Jason M Lavender, Stephen A Wonderlich, Ross D Crosby, Scott G Engel, Timothy J Strauman, James E Mitchell, Scott J Crow, et al. (2016). Self-Discrepancy and Eating Disorder Symptoms Across Eating Disorder Diagnostic Groups. Eur Eat Disord Rev, 24(6). pp. 541–545. 10.1002/erv.2483 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13836.

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Scholars@Duke

Strauman

Timothy J. Strauman

Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience

Professor Strauman’s work is grounded in the premise that mental health and well-being are fundamentally shaped by self-regulation—how individuals pursue goals, respond to challenges, and adapt over time. His research integrates clinical psychology, affective neuroscience, and behavioral science to characterize the psychological and neurobiological systems that support self-regulation, and to understand how disruptions in these systems contribute to vulnerability to depression and related conditions.

 

Across a program of experimental, clinical, and neuroimaging research, his work has examined self-regulation as a multi-level system, including its cognitive and motivational mechanisms, its development through socialization, and its links to affective and immunological processes. This work has also informed the development and evaluation of novel interventions targeting self-regulatory dysfunction.

 

More recently, his work has focused on translating this science of self-regulation into scalable approaches to intervention and prevention. This includes the development of new models of treatment that target regulatory processes across disorders, as well as efforts to extend effective self-regulation skills beyond traditional clinical settings and into everyday contexts. This translational focus reflects a broader aim of building integrated, system-level approaches to mental health that can improve outcomes at population scale.


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