Self-injurious behavior in women with eating disorders.
OBJECTIVE
The authors assessed lifetime and 6-month occurrence and phenomenology of self-injurious behavior in patients with eating disorders.


METHODS
Women (N=376) in inpatient treatment for an eating disorder (anorexia: N=119, bulimia: N=137, eating disorder not otherwise specified: N=120) were assessed for self-injurious behavior and completed the Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experience Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale.


RESULTS
The lifetime rate of self-injurious behavior occurrence was 34.6%, with the highest rates found in subjects with eating disorder not otherwise specified (35.8%) and bulimia (34.3%); the 6-month rate of self-injurious behavior occurrence was 21.3%. Multivariate comparisons were computed for the factors of self-injurious behavior and diagnostic subgroup: self-injuring patients reported a significantly higher number of traumatic events, showed significantly higher dissociation scores, and exhibited significantly more obsessive-compulsive thoughts and behaviors. Bulimic patients showed significantly higher impulsivity scores.


CONCLUSIONS
This study strongly supports the assumption that patients with eating disorders are at risk for self-injurious behavior and points to the necessity of a routine screening for self-injurious behavior as well as the development of a standardized questionnaire. Group comparisons point to the relevance of traumatic experiences and comorbid dissociative phenomenology.
Paul
Thomas
T
Medizinisch-Psychosomatische Klinik Bad Bramstedt, Germany. TPaul@Schoen-Kliniken.de
Schroeter
Kirsten
K
Dahme
Bernhard
B
Nutzinger
Detlev O
DO
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015897:Comorbidity; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008016:Life Change Events; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires