Depression and Eating Disorders the Eating Disorder

Depression and Eating Disorders

The eating disorder category in the DSM-IV includes Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and the Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified categories. Peck and Lightsey (2008) note that while the DSM classification symptom is currently the most used system, there has been some debate in the about how to classify people with eating disordered behavior. A viable alternative to the discrete categories used in the DSM is notion of viewing eating disorders along a continuum from having no such behaviors to the severe eating disordered behaviors. In an effort to combine the two methods the self-report Questionnaire for Eating Disorders Diagnosis (QEDD) was developed. The QEDD distinguishes nonsymptomatic individuals (no symptoms) to symptomatic individuals (those that have some symptoms, but do not qualify for a diagnosis to anyone qualifying for an eating disorder diagnosis). Previous research has provided support for this conceptualization by comparing the QEDD with scores on another well-known eating disorders survey, the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2).

Previous research has indicated that two dimensions of personality constructs, perfectionism and self-esteem have relations with eating disorder behaviors. Perfectionism, the need for control and intolerance for mistakes, is typically positively related to eating disordered behavior, whereas self-esteem, the person's subjective impression of their overall worth, is negatively related to eating disorder behaviors. The current study had two goals: comparing the QEDD continuum placement with scores on the EDI-2. contiumThe hypothesis fir the first goal was that self-esteem decreases and perfectionism increases as and eating disordered behavior increases (measured by the EDI-2 and the continum) increases as placement on an eating disorders. The authors an issue with the EDI-2 perfectionism subscale that does not fully measure perfectionism according to its constructs and therefore added the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale to the analysis. The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was also used. The second goal was to provide further validation for the QEDD and the continuum.

Two hundred and sixteen female college students completed the survey measures at a Midwestern University. Responders were dived into three groups based on their QEDD profiles (asymptomatic, symptomatic but not disordered, eating disordered). The EDI-2 scales were found to be statistically unreliable and not used in determining if the groups differed on personality characteristics. The findings indicated that the personality variables and the continuum assessment were related in the hypothesized directions. A discriminant function analyses using the personality variables indicated that the asymptomatic group was generally satisfied with their bodies, where as the symptomatic groups were not. Using prior probabilities the discriminant function was able to classify 45.2% of the disordered participants (better than chance), 31.6% of the symptomatic women (not better than chance), and 82.2% of the asymptomatic participants (better than chance). Nearly half of the symptomatic group was classified as eating disordered. The authors concluded that there is evidence that the continuum concept is valid, the QEDD can be useful in diagnosis but needs refining, and that the relation between personality characteristics and eating disorders can provide useful diagnostic information. They also recognize the study's limitations (sample limitations).