Associations Between Retrospective versus Ecological Momentary Assessment Measures of Emotion and Eating Disorder Symptoms in Anorexia Nervosa

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-1-2013

Department

Psychology

Abstract

This study examined the unique associations between eating disorder symptoms and two emotion-related constructs (affective lability and anxiousness) assessed via distinct methodologies in anorexia nervosa (AN). Women (N = 116) with full or subthreshold AN completed baseline emotion and eating disorder assessments, followed by two weeks of ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Hierarchical regressions were used to examine unique contributions of baseline and EMA measures of affective lability and anxiousness in accounting for variance in baseline eating disorder symptoms and EMA dietary restriction, controlling for age, body mass index, depression, and AN diagnostic subtype. Only EMA affective lability was uniquely associated with baseline eating disorder symptoms and EMA dietary restriction. Anxiousness was uniquely associated with baseline eating disorder symptoms regardless of assessment method; neither of the anxiousness measures was uniquely associated with EMA dietary restriction. Affective lability and anxiousness account for variance in global eating disorder symptomatology; AN treatments targeting these emotion-related constructs may prove useful. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Publication Title

Journal of Psychiatric Research

Volume

47

Issue

10

First Page

1514

Last Page

1520

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