title: Personality features of women with good outcome from restricting anorexia nervosa.
abstract: Personality characteristics were assessed in women who had physically and, in the majority, psychologically recovered from restricting anorexia nervosa at an 8- to 10-year follow-up. Personality dimensions were evaluated using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the California Personality Inventory, and the Reid-Ware Scale. Women who had recovered from anorexia nervosa rated higher on risk avoidance, displayed greater restraint in emotional expression and initiative, and showed greater conformance to authority than age-matched normal women. On comparison with their sisters, the recovered women reported a greater degree of self- and impulse control and less enterprise and spontaneity; sisters, however, endorsed equally high moral standards. The differences in personality characteristics remained significant after statistically controlling for depressive symptoms and eating behavior. The results suggest that a temperamental disposition toward emotional and behavioral restraint combined with a strong sense for traditional values may be psychological risk factors for the development of the restricting type of anorexia nervosa.
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: R C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Casper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010556:Personality Tests; D011594:Psychometrics