title: Anger and core beliefs in the eating disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The link between emotion and eating pathology has long been established, but relatively little is known about the role of anger, partly because the existing literature has tended to concentrate on anger as a unitary construct. Nor is there any understanding of the cognitive factors that drive this affect in the eating disorders. This study had two aims: to determine levels of different facets of anger across eating disorder diagnoses and behaviors; and to investigate whether facets of anger are related to the individual's negative core beliefs.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample consisted of 140 women who met DSM-IV criteria for eating disorders, and 50 female control participants (university undergraduates). The women completed self-report questionnaires of anger levels and unhealthy core beliefs, and the presence of bulimic behaviors was recorded at assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The eating-disordered women had higher levels of state anger and anger suppression, particularly if the diagnosis included bulimic symptoms. Different aspects of anger were associated with specific bulimic behaviors. Unhealthy core beliefs were associated with higher levels of trait anger in both groups but with anger suppression in the clinical women only.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Suggestions are made regarding ways in which state anger and anger suppression might be understood and treated in women with eating disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London, London, United Kingdom. g.waller@sghms.ac.uk
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Waller
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Babbs
authors.forename: Rhonda
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Milligan
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Vartouhi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ohanian
authors.forename: Newman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D002032:Bulimia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D003469:Culture; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires