Attributional style in the eating disorders

The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Tamara MorrisonRachel Lawson

Abstract

Previous research has shown that patients with eating disorders have a characteristic cognitive bias, making internal attributions when evaluating negative events. However, there is less clarity about their attributions for positive events. There are suggestions that this cognitive style might be influenced by depressed mood. This study examines attributional style in the eating disorders for positive and negative events, independent of covariant effects of depression. Twenty-five eating-disordered women and 26 nonclinical women each completed measures of attributional style, depressed mood, and eating pathology. They also completed a measure of verbal intelligence (to ensure comparability of groups). Women with an eating disorder had a greater tendency to attribute negative situations to the self when compared with nonclinical women, even when differences in depressed mood were controlled for. There were no comparable differences in positive attributional biases. Women with an eating disorder adopt a self-blaming style when evaluating negative events, and such self-blame is likely to contribute to the maintenance of an eating disorder. This suggests that therapy for the eating disorders should include an element that focuses o...Continue Reading

References

Jan 1, 1989·Journal of Psychosomatic Research·M GoebelI Florin
Jul 1, 1995·Medical and Pediatric Oncology·M N Beck, D Beck
Feb 1, 1993·The British Journal of Clinical Psychology·A BaddeleyI Nimmo-Smith
May 9, 2000·The International Journal of Eating Disorders·J L Mansfield, T Wade
Apr 25, 2003·Behaviour Research and Therapy·Christopher G FairburnRoz Shafran

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Jan 27, 2009·Eating and Weight Disorders : EWD·A L SeifertM T Kiviniemi
Aug 22, 2007·Eating Disorders·Glenn WallerVictoria Mountford
Nov 21, 2009·Archives of Psychiatric Nursing·Hui-Wen YehKuei-Ru Chou
May 27, 2015·European Eating Disorders Review : the Journal of the Eating Disorders Association·Carol ChuThomas E Joiner
Dec 18, 2013·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·H Pinar Caglar-NazaliJanet Treasure
Feb 22, 2018·European Eating Disorders Review : the Journal of the Eating Disorders Association·Carrie J McAdamsErin Van Enkevort
Aug 12, 2017·European Eating Disorders Review : the Journal of the Eating Disorders Association·Jessica A HarperCarrie J McAdams
Apr 1, 2009·The Behavior Analyst·Alisha M WrayMichael J Dougher
Oct 16, 2021·Journal of Eating Disorders·Whitney Smith HaganCarrie J McAdams

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychiatric condition characterized by severe weight loss and secondary problems associated with malnutrition. Here is the latest research on AN.

© 2022 Meta ULC. All rights reserved