Body image distortion change during inpatient treatment of adolescent girls with restrictive anorexia nervosa

Abstract

Body image distortion is one core symptom of anorexia nervosa. However, little is known concerning its fluctuation over time. This paper pursues two objectives: (1) to assess body image distortion change during inpatient treatment of adolescent girls with restrictive anorexia nervosa (n=10), and (2) to identify associations between this change and the change observed to other measures of eating and weight-related disorders. A Quantification of Body Image Distortion computerized tool (Q-BID) and paper-and-pencil questionnaires were used at both beginning and end of inpatient treatment. Pearson correlations and linear regression analyses were conducted to identify associations between body image distortion change and the change observed to other measures of eating and weight-related disorders. The results indicate that all adolescents experienced a body image distortion change. This change corresponds to a body image distortion decrease for 70% of them. The body image distortion change measure was highly correlated with the change observed in the score to the Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) and to the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ-4) during the inpatient treatment. These two measures of change indeed explained 88.4% of the body image distortion change variance in the multivariate model. We concluded that the Q-BID is an interesting tool for the assessment of body image distortion change. More research is needed concerning the correlates of this outcome in order to elaborate appropriate interventions for both clinical and community settings.