An exploratory assessment of theory of mind and psychological impairment in patients with bulimia nervosa

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate psychosocial functioning and different dimensions of theory of mind (ToM) in people with bulimia nervosa (BN) and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified-BN type (EDNOS-BN). Psychosocial functioning and ToM were assessed in a sample of young adult females, 16 BN and 16 EDNOS-BN outpatients and 16 healthy controls (HCs). They were assessed using the Eating Disorder Inventory-Symptom Checklist-2 (EDI-2 SC) for evaluating psychological traits associated with eating disorders; the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) for evaluating psychopathological status; and the Theory of Mind Assessment Scale (Th.o.m.a.s.), a semi-structured interview aimed at assessing a person's different dimensions of ToM. The BN and EDNOS-BN groups exhibited worse performance than the control group on all dimensions of the SCL-90-R, and on all dimensions of the EDI-2 SC. The only difference for perfectionism was that BN obtained higher scores than EDNOS-BN group. Our results also revealed an impairment of third-person and second-order ToM in patients with bulimia (BN and EDNOS-BN) with respect to control subjects. These preliminary data have important implications for future empirical work, in that they provide valuable information regarding the importance of investigating the various facets of ToM ability separately, in order to provide a more detailed profile of ToM functioning in the clinical samples.

The role of sensation seeking and motivations for eating in female and male adolescents who binge eat

“…Moreover, females participants were resulted significantly more prone to eat to cope with negative affective states than males. This result was supported by other studies that showed that females with binge eating behavior were more likely to have higher levels of emotional eating (Laghi et al, 2013, 2014, Waller & Osman, 1998Waters et al, 2001).…”

Out of my real body: cognitive neuroscience meets eating disorders

“…Here too, even if some studies suggest impairment in this process (Smeets et al, 1999; Cooper and Mohr, 2012; Laghi et al, 2013), future studies should identify the extent of the impairment and its relation with both memory processes and the manipulation of bodily representations.…”

Attachment in eating-disordered outpatients with and without borderline personality disorder

“…Moreover, recent studies underline a moderate role of the gender in adolescents with AN, as well as negative perceptions of their family functioning and good performances in mindreading tasks, while bulimic patients revealed an impairment in their theory of mind (Laghi et al, 2014b(Laghi et al, , 2015a(Laghi et al, , 2015b.…”