title: Ego-syntonicity and ego-dystonicity of eating-related intrusive thoughts in patients with eating disorders.
abstract: The main objective of the present study was to analyse the role of the ego-dystonicity and ego-syntonicity of eating disorder intrusive thoughts (EDITs) in the genesis and maintenance of eating disorders (EDs). Participants were 98 female patients with EDs, 56 Spanish and 42 English (27.19±9.59 years; body mass index (BMI): 18.72±2.87). All of them completed the eating attitudes test, the Eating Attitudes Test, the Eating Intrusive Thoughts Inventory, the Ego-Dystonicity Questionnaire-Reduced version, and the Ego-Syntonicity Questionnaire. Patients indicated that their EDITs were rational and also undesirable and immoral, suggesting that EDITs are not fully ego-syntonic or ego-dystonic. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated no differences in ego-syntonicity and ego-dystonicity across ED subtypes. Path analyses were performed to investigate the mediating role of the EDITs' ego-syntonicity and ego-dystonicity in their interference, dysfunctional appraisals and control strategies. They showed, first, that the more interference an EDIT caused, the more ego-syntonic and the less ego-dystonic it was and, second, that when the EDITs were assessed as ego-syntonic, patients tried to do what they indicated, whereas when they were assessed as ego-dystonic, patients made efforts to neutralise them. Clinical implications for the conceptualisation and treatment of ED are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Valencia, Avda, Blasco Ibáñez, 21, 46010-Valencia, Spain. maria.roncero@uv.es
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roncero
authors.forename: Amparo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belloch
authors.forename: Conxa
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perpiñá
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Treasure
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D004532:Ego; D004739:England; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D013030:Spain; D013850:Thinking