title: Personality subtypes in eating disorders: validation of a classification in a naturalistic sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Research has identified three personality subtypes in patients with eating disorders: emotionally dysregulated, constricted and high-functioning/perfectionistic.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To see whether the subtypes are distinguished in ways indicative of valid classification, notably in patterns of adaptive functioning, comorbidity, treatment response and therapeutic interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A random sample of experienced clinicians provided data on 145 patients with bulimic symptoms, including data on eating disorder symptoms, DSM-IV comorbidity, personality pathology, treatment response and treatment interventions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients categorised as dysregulated had the poorest functioning, most comorbidity and worst outcome, followed by patients in the constricted and high-functioning groups. The three subtypes elicited different therapeutic interventions and accounted for substantial incremental variance in outcome, holding constant the severity of eating disorder symptoms and presence of other Axis I disorders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data provide accumulating evidence for the validity of three personality subtypes in patients with eating disorders.
authors.affiliation: Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Department of Psychology, Boston University, 648 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ht141@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thompson-Brenner
authors.forename: Drew
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Westen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000592:standards*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results