To date, few studies have examined the personality characteristics and clinical predictors of impulsive behaviors in eating disorders (ED). The aim of this work was to study the prevalence of a wide range of impulsive behaviors in a sample of 554 ED subjects and to examine the predictors of these behaviors. Subjects were diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria as having anorexia nervosa restricting type (ANR; n = 183), anorexia nervosa binge eating/purging type (ANBP; n = 65), bulimia nervosa purging type (BNP; n = 244), and bulimia nervosa nonpurging type (BNNP; n = 62). Nine different types of impulsive behaviors were assessed in these groups. About 55% of the whole sample reported at least one type of impulsive behavior, 35% more than one, and about 13% more than three. According to findings, impulsive and multi-impulsive subjects are characterized by the presence of purging behavior and by specific temperamental features such as high levels of novelty seeking and low persistence. The prediction of impulsive behavior is further improved by considering the presence of a history of childhood abuse, maternal psychiatric morbidity, and some specific psychological symptoms such as maturity fears, perfectionism, depression, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The presence of impulsive behavior appears to be associated with overall higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology and eating psychopathology, thus indicating that they are an important feature to be considered in the assessment and treatment of ED.

This study provides evidence that the Mexican version of the EAT is an economical, reliable and potentially useful instrument for research in this field.

This study refers to the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Drive for Muscularity Scale among Mexican population. The exploratory factor analysis was carried out with 369 university males (mean age = 20.93 years). A three-factor structure that explains 45.64 % of the variance was found for the scale: 31.10 % by attitudes (α = 0.87), 10.70 % by substance intake (α = 0.72) and 3.84 % by training adherence (α = 0.68). Only the two first sub-scales and total score (α = 0.86) offered acceptable levels of internal consistence. The confirmatory factor analysis, carried out with 200 males (mean age = 20.79 years), verified both the suitability of this factor structure and the two-factor structure proposed by McCreary et al. (Psychol Men Masc 5:49-58, 1). Drive for muscularity is important in comprehending male body image and Drive for Muscularity Scale has demonstrated to be psychometrically suitable to assess this construct in Mexican males.

Our results support the suitability of the MASS and its subscales to measure muscle dysmorphia symptoms in Mexican male bodybuilders.