An empirical analysis of eating disorders and anxiety disorders publications (1980-2000)—part I: Research methods

Abstract

Objective: The current study compared the eating disorder and anxiety disorder literature in terms of research design and methodologic features in 1980, 1990, and 2000. Method: Computer literature searches were conducted using PubMed and PsychInfo databases to identify relevant eating disorder and anxiety disorder articles published at each of the three time points. A total of 456 articles were randomly selected, including 228 articles from the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature. Within each specific literature, one third (76) of the articles were selected from each of the three time points (1980, 1990, 2000). Two raters, from a team of eight trained raters, were randomly assigned to independently rate each article in terms of 75 separate methodologic features. Disagreements in ratings were resolved via consensus. Ratings were tabulated separately for eating disorders and anxiety disorders across the three time points.Results: Although there were some differences between anxiety disorders and eating disorders, most of the variables did not substantially differ between these two fields. There was a consistent trend for both fields to show increases in more rigorous methodologies over time. However, both the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature were characterized by a pervasive absence of many recommended methodologic procedures across the past two decades. Conclusion:Although the eating disorder literature and the anxiety disorder literature are increasingly characterized by improved reporting of rigorous methodologic procedures, there is still a pervasive absence of such procedures in both literatures, which limits the strength of inference in these studies.

An empirical analysis of eating disorders and anxiety disorders publications (1980-2000)—part II: Statistical hypothesis testing

“…Certainly, many of the issues raised in these articles will not be relevant to every article that is reviewed, but many of the topics covered in the APA Task Force on Statistical Inference could enhance the quality of reviews, if they were carefully considered by reviewers. Finally, we believe that the findings of the current and previous 20 articles have significant implications for journals and editorial boards in the area of eating disorders and anxiety disorders, and even in the broader literature of clinical psychology and psychiatry. Most notable is the constant tension between page-related space issues versus the complete presentation of a scientific article.…”

“…20 There is a slight possibility that raters were not blind to all information in the articles, and we relied heavily on our consensus ratings to establish reliability between raters. Our search was limited by the key words that we chose for the review and we did not include animal or basic science research or articles published in a language other than English.…”

“…Again, largely informed by the APA Task Force on Statistical Inference, 17 we created a rating scale that allowed us to assess the presence or absence of various statistical approaches in the eating disorder and anxiety disorder literature. Furthermore, consistent with Part I of the current study, 20 articles were generated within each of these content areas across three time periods: 1980, 1990, and 2000. This allows us to both compare two fields of empirical science (eating disorders and anxiety disorders), but also trends in the use of statistical tests and hypothesis testing over two decades.…”

“…Also, we would hope that the findings in the current and previous 20 articles would have implications for individuals who review scientific articles for publication. The issues identified in these articles, and raised by the APA Task Force on Statistical Inference, may serve as a reasonable template for reviewers to consider in terms of the adequacy and completeness of an article that they may be reviewing.…”

Program to modify body image disturbances in high school students / Programa para modificar alteraciones de la imagen corporal en estudiantes de bachillerato

“…Aunque nuestros resultados son alentadores, debido principalmente a que las actitudes negativas hacia la imagen corporal han sido vinculadas al inicio de los TCA (p.e. Wonderlich et al, 2006), es importante ser cuidadosos con la ge-neralización de estos resultados, en virtud de que el tamaño de la muestra fue pequeño. Por otro lado, es necesario evaluar el impacto de las intervenciones a largo plazo, es decir, este estudio no permitió identificar el efecto futuro del programa, por lo que resulta conveniente diseñar investigación con seguimientos largos.…”