title: Personality profiles in Eating Disorders: further evidence of the clinical utility of examining subtypes based on temperament.
abstract: Despite recent modifications to the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for Eating Disorders (ED; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), sources of variability in the clinical presentation of ED patients remain poorly understood. Consistent with previous research that has used underlying personality dimensions to identify distinct subgroups of ED patients, the present study examined (1) whether we could identify clinically meaningful subgroups of patients based on temperamental factors including Behavioral Inhibition (BIS), Behavioral Activation (BAS) and Effortful Control (EC), and (2) whether the identified subgroups would also differ with respect to ED, Axis-I and Axis-II psychopathology. One hundred and forty five ED inpatients participated in this study. Results of a k-means analysis identified three distinct groups of patients: an Overcontrolled/Inhibited group (n=53), an Undercontrolled/Dysregulated group (n=58) and a Resilient group (n=34). Further, group comparisons revealed that patients in the Undercontrolled/Dysregulated group demonstrated more severe symptoms of bulimia, hostility and Cluster B Personality Disorders compared to the other groups, while patients in the Resilient group demonstrated the least severe psychopathology. These findings have important implications for understanding how individual differences in personality may impact patterns of ED symptoms and co-occurring psychopathology in patients with ED.
authors.affiliation: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada. Electronic address: briannat@sfu.ca.
authors.forename: Brianna J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Claes
authors.affiliation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Wilderjans
authors.affiliation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Alexian Brothers Psychiatric Hospital, Tienen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pauwels
authors.affiliation: Alexian Brothers Psychiatric Hospital, Tienen, Belgium; Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dierckx
authors.affiliation: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Alexander L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.affiliation: Alexian Brothers Psychiatric Hospital, Tienen, Belgium.
authors.forename: Katrien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schoevaerts
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002032:Bulimia / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis; D013694:Temperament
keywords: Comorbidity; Eating Disorders; Impulsivity; Personality; Temperament