title: Personality traits in eating-disordered patients with and without self-injurious behaviors.
abstract: Although there is a high comorbidity of eating disorder and self-injurious behavior (SIB), no systematic research has focused on personality trait differences in patients with and without SIB. In this study, a Dutch adaptation of the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1985, 1992) was completed by 178 female, eating-disordered (ED) patients of whom 46.5% showed at least 1 form of SIB (e.g., cutting, burning, hair pulling). A subsample of 41 patients also completed the NEO-PI-R. Compared to patients without SIB, ED patients with SIB scored significantly higher on the Neuroticism scale and significantly lower on the Extraversion scale; on subtraits (facet scores) they appeared to be more anxious, more willing to please and less cheerful, efficient and ambitious. Personality traits were not associated with frequency or form of SIB or subtype of ED (except for impulsiveness). We also did not find a significant interaction effect between ED subtype and presence/absence of SIB.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. laurence.claes@psy.kuleuven.ac.be
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Claes
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vandereycken
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vertommen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory; D015995:Prevalence; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires