Motivation to Change, Coping, and Self-Esteem in Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa

Motivation to Change, Coping, and Self-Esteem in Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa

By use of several questionaires, this study aimed at an investigation of the changes in motivation, symptoms, self-esteem and coping style in adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa.. The psychometric properties of the Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ) and its relation to coping style and self-esteem were assessed. After a treatment period of nine months, clinical AN diagnosis and the body mass index (BMI) were re-assessed. Besides construct validity of the ANSOCQ, its predictive validity in terms of predicting the outcome of AN was assessed.

N=92 adolescents referred to an eating disorders clinic meeting criteria for anorexia nervosa (AN) gave written informed consent to participate in this study and completed the ANSOCQ, the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI-2), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), the Body Image Questionnaire (BIQ), two questionnaires measuring Self-Related Cognitions (SRC) and the Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ). After a treatment period of nine months, clinical AN diagnosis and the body mass index (BMI) were re-assessed. Exploratory factor analysis and logistic regressions were performed.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Consecutive cohort of patients aged 12-19 years with a certified diagnosis of anorexia nervosa

Exclusion Criteria:

• none