Personality dimensions among women with an eating disorder: towards reconceptualizing DSM.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the incremental validity of a dimensional assessment of personality, after controlling for diagnostic category, in accounting for meaningful variation in eating disorder attitudes and behaviours and in current affective distress among a clinical sample of eating disordered women.


METHODS
244 treatment seeking eating disordered women and 116 non-eating disordered women were assessed with the NEO five factor inventory (NEO-FFI), and with measures of eating disorder attitudes and of affective distress using a cross sectional design.


RESULTS
As predicted, differences were found between eating disordered and non-eating disordered women on several NEO-FFI scales, which provided a context for subsequent analyses. NEO-FFI scales accounted for meaningful variation in eating disordered attitudes and behaviours as well as in levels of current affective distress over and above DSM-IV diagnostic category.


CONCLUSIONS
A flexible approach to diagnosis, which includes personality dimensions along with a description of eating disorder symptoms, may result in a more inclusive and useful diagnostic scheme for treating women with eating disorders.
Tasca
Giorgio A
GA
The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa, Canada. gtasca@ottawahospital.on.ca
Demidenko
Natasha
N
Krysanski
Valerie
V
Bissada
Hany
H
Illing
Vanessa
V
Gick
Mary
M
Weekes
Kirsti
K
Balfour
Louise
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002605:Character; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult