title: Patient-identified events implicated in the development of body dysmorphic disorder.
abstract: Little is known about the causes of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), but researchers have proposed a diathesis-stress model. This study uses a patient-centered approach to identify stressful events to which patients attribute the development of their BDD symptoms. An Internet-recruited sample of 165 adults with BDD participated. A large minority of participants attributed the development of their BDD to a triggering event. Bullying experiences were the most commonly described type of event. Additionally, most events were interpersonal and occurred during grade school or middle school. There were no differences in severity of psychosocial outcomes between participants who did or did not attribute their BDD to a specific triggering event. However, participants who specifically attributed their BDD development to a bullying experience had poorer psychosocial outcomes (i.e., perceived social support, depression severity, functional impairment, quality of life) compared to those who attributed their BDD development to another type of triggering event.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 2000, Boston, MA 02114, United States. Electronic address: hilary_weingarden@mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Hilary
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weingarden
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 2000, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
authors.forename: Erin E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Curley
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, David King Hall, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, United States.
authors.forename: Keith D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Renshaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 185 Cambridge Street, Suite 2000, Boston, MA 02114, United States.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilhelm
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D057215:Body Dysmorphic Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D058445:Bullying / Q000502:physiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body dysmorphic disorder; Bullying; Diathesis-stress; Teasing