Pretreatment motivation and therapy outcomes in eating disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Using clinician and patient input to assess utility, accuracy, efficiency, and therapeutic implementation of a new data-driven digital therapeutic for personalized clinical eating disorder treatment: Awaken digital guide

OBJECTIVE

Eating disorders (EDs) take a life every 52 minutes and treatments are ineffective for ∼50% of individuals. Though EDs are heterogeneous illnesses, current evidence-based treatments take a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Network-Informed Personalized Treatment is a new promising treatment for EDs, but clinician-patient-friendly software tools are needed to integrate this guidance system into routine treatment. Adoption is key for impact, necessitating the inclusion of clinicians in the software development. The current pilot assessed a new data-driven clinician-guidance therapeutic.

METHOD

A two-part pilot was analyzed for quantitative (0-not at all to 10-extremely) and qualitative input on user perception through quantitative and open-ended prompted questions evaluating using personalizing ED treatment with the Awaken Digital Guide therapeutic.

RESULTS

Results demonstrated that clinicians in a focus group (N = 9) and clinician/patient dyads within implementation (N = 10) endorsed improved efficiency, effectiveness, self-awareness, and accuracy using Awaken Digital Guide compared to current treatment as suggested by quantitative and qualitative results. Both clinicians and patients rated the tool positively (6.8-9.6/5.8-8.6, respectively) with an average rating of good and excellent.

CONCLUSION

Findings suggest that ED-specialized clinicians desire data-driven guidance on personalizing ED treatment. Users perceive Awaken Digital Guide therapeutic with potential to increase collaboration, motivation, efficiency, and effectiveness of ED personalized treatment.

Self-efficacy, motivation, social support, and alliance as predictors of youth psychotherapy outcomes in usual care

OBJECTIVE

We examined how youth self-efficacy, motivation for treatment, social support, and therapeutic alliance relate to psychotherapy outcomes of patients receiving services at outpatient community clinics. We hypothesized that (1) these variables would increase throughout the course of therapy, (2) baseline scores would predict initial ratings of distress, (3) baseline scores would predict the rate of change in symptoms throughout treatment, and (4) changes in these variables would be associated with symptom change over the course of treatment.

METHOD

Participants included 150 adolescents at community outpatient treatment centers. Data was collected prior to beginning treatment, and every three weeks afterward until termination. We used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to address our hypotheses.

RESULTS

We found that (1) youth ratings of self-efficacy, social support, and motivation increased throughout treatment, (2) initial self-efficacy and social support were associated with initial levels of distress, (3) ratings of youth self-efficacy at intake predicted its rate of change over therapy, and (4) changes in all variables during therapy were related to lower distress at termination.

DISCUSSION

Results suggest that these variables may affect the trajectory and course of treatment in community-based treatment settings. These results may have implications for treatment planning to maximize treatment effectiveness.

Individual differences in motivation to change in individuals with eating disorders: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Motivation to change has been suggested to significantly impact treatment outcomes in eating disorders (EDs). This review will investigate factors associated with motivation to change in EDs with the aim of supporting clinicians to be aware and sensitive to factors that might obstruct recovery and to inform motivation-based interventions.

METHOD

Using PRISMA guidelines, this article identified 24 studies through database searches meeting eligibility criteria. Only correlates of motivation were identified, limiting the ability of this review to identify causal relationships. Factors that changed alongside changes in motivation were identified from longitudinal studies.

RESULTS

This review identified factors such as individual characteristics, co-morbid psychopathology, lack of treatment autonomy and relationships with others to be associated with motivation to change in individuals with EDs. In addition, motivation to change significantly increased alongside self-esteem and identity re-negotiation when measured longitudinally.

DISCUSSION

Motivational interviewing can typically focus on exploring ambivalence to treatment, identifying goals and values, and increasing self-efficacy. However, this review identifies individual and relational factors to be particularly significant and may obstruct recovery from an ED. As such, evidence-based targets have been identified to inform clinicians and motivation-based interventions.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE

Knowledge of factors associated with motivation to change in EDs is important to understand those who may have poorer treatment outcomes. Motivation may be improved by supporting individuals' relationship with others and tailoring interventions according to temperament and personality traits. Utilizing an individual's social support as they enter ED treatment may be effective in maximizing motivation to recover.

[Patient Factors in Offender Treatment: Personality, Therapy Motivation and Outcome]

Using a systematic literature review according to the PRISMA criteria, patient factors of offenders were related to forensic outcomes. Searches were conducted in the PsycInfo and PSYNDEX databases; further relevant studies were taken from the bibliographies of studies that met the selection criteria. Only quantitative empirical studies for the period 1990-2021 were included. Findings from 31 studies on patient factors (personality, therapy motivation, therapy expectation, satisfaction with therapy) are reported. Patient factors could not always be consistently associated with outcomes. The clearest correlations were found between the expression of anti- or dissocial personality traits and/or psychopathy and (negative) therapy outcomes. Traits usually associated with antisocial developments (impulsivity, anger, rage, hostility) in some cases also correlated negatively with therapeutically desirable outcomes. Patient motivation for therapy should generally have a positive impact on the likelihood of successful forensic therapies, but not all relevant studies pointed in this direction. No studies were identified on the relationships between therapy expectancy or satisfaction and outcome. Based on general psychotherapy research, we suggest that offender therapy could benefit from broader approaches to studying therapy effectiveness.

Assessing motivation for treatment in eating disorders: psychometric validation of the Italian version of the Autonomous and Controlled Motivation for Treatment Questionnaire (ACMTQ-ITA)

PURPOSE

Treatment resistance is a significant challenge in addressing eating disorders (EDs). The Autonomous and Controlled Motivation for Treatment Questionnaire (ACMTQ) has been previously validated in ED populations to assess patients' motivation for treatment. This study aimed to validate the ACMTQ in the Italian language (ACMTQ-ITA) and evaluate its psychometric properties.

METHODS

We recruited a clinical sample of adults aged 18 or older, diagnosed with EDs, proficient in the Italian language, and providing written informed consent. Participants with psychiatric comorbidities such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance use disorder were excluded from the study. Validity of the ACMTQ-ITA was assessed using reliability analysis with Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω estimates, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA).

RESULTS

Results from the reliability analysis confirmed the internal consistency of the Autonomous Motivation (AM) factor (α = 0.82, ω = 0.82), the Controlled Motivation (CM) factor (α = 0.76, ω = 0.77), and the ACMTQ-ITA overall score (α = 0.79). The CFA confirmed the two-factor solution (i.e., AM and CM) identified in the original validation of the ACMTQ (Comparative Fit Index = 0.92, Akaike Information Criterion = 3427.26, Bayesian Information Criterion = 3486.82; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.08, Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.09).

CONCLUSION

The ACMTQ-ITA emerged as a valid and reliable tool for measuring motivation for treatment in individuals with EDs. Its implementation may facilitate the comprehension of treatment motivation, offering valuable clinical insights and implications for health management practices.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V, descriptive studies.

The role of readiness and confidence to change in the treatment of atypical anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa

OBJECTIVE

Atypical anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious eating disorder that is more common in the population than AN. Despite this, people with atypical AN are less likely to be referred or admitted for eating disorder treatment and there is evidence that they are less likely to complete or benefit from existing interventions. This study examined whether baseline readiness and/or confidence moderated outcomes from 10-session cognitive behavioral therapy among people with atypical AN and bulimia nervosa (BN), and whether the impact of these variables differed between diagnoses.

METHODS

Participants (n = 67; 33 with atypical AN) were a subset from an outpatient treatment study. Linear mixed model analyses were conducted to examine whether baseline readiness and/or confidence moderated outcomes.

RESULTS

People with BN who had higher levels of readiness or confidence at baseline had steeper decreases in eating disorder psychopathology over time. There was no evidence that readiness or confidence moderated outcomes for people with atypical AN.

DISCUSSION

This study suggests that the moderators that have been identified for other eating disorders may not apply for people with atypical AN and highlights a need for future work to routinely investigate whether theoretically or empirically driven variables moderate outcomes in this little-understood population.

PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

People with bulimia nervosa with higher readiness and confidence experienced greater decreases in eating disorder symptoms than people with lower readiness and confidence when treated with cognitive behavioral therapy. These findings did not apply to people with atypical anorexia nervosa. Results demonstrate that future work is urgently required to identify helpful treatments for people with atypical anorexia nervosa as well as the variables that have a positive impact on outcomes in treatment for these individuals.

Effects of Therapeutic Alliance in Interpersonal Psychotherapy Among Adolescent Girls With Loss-of-Control Eating

OBJECTIVE

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) has been proposed for prevention of excess weight gain among adolescents with loss-of-control (LOC) eating. Mixed findings from a trial testing this conjecture warrant elucidation of potential outcome predictors. The therapeutic alliance (adolescent-facilitator emotional bond and task collaboration) may be important for IPT but has received little attention in weight-related interventions. This study evaluated associations of adolescent-reported therapeutic alliance during IPT with weight- and eating-related outcomes.

METHODS

Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial were conducted to compare group IPT to health education (HE) for preventing excess weight gain among 113 girls (ages 12-17) with body mass index (BMI) at the 75th to 97th percentile and LOC eating. BMI and LOC eating were measured at baseline, 12 weeks (postintervention), and 1 year. Multilevel modeling was used to test associations between change in therapeutic alliance (from session 1 to session 12) and changes in weight- and eating-related outcomes (from postintervention to 1 year). Analyses were controlled for therapeutic alliance after session 1 and for baseline and postintervention outcome values; group assignment (IPT vs. HE) was a moderator.

RESULTS

Increases in emotional bond were associated with decreased weight and with greater decreases in number of LOC eating episodes at 1 year in the IPT group (p<0.05) and with weight gain in the HE group (p<0.05). Greater task collaboration was related to greater weight gain at 1-year follow-up, regardless of group assignment (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The association of therapeutic alliance during IPT with weight and LOC eating outcomes among adolescent girls merits further investigation.

Therapeutic frameworks in integration sessions in substance-assisted psychotherapy: A systematised review

Serotonergic psychedelics and related substances have been explored as potential adjuncts in substance-assisted psychotherapy (SAPT) for treating various disorders. SAPT can be divided into three phases: preparation, administration and integration. Integration is commonly defined as the comprehension and effective application of insights from psychedelic experiences into everyday life. However, there is limited research regarding the most appropriate therapeutic approach during SAPT. In this article, we discuss the current evidence for different therapeutic frameworks for integration sessions when serotonergic psychedelics and entactogens are used as adjuncts to psychotherapy. We conducted a systematised review of the literature following PRISMA guidelines and searched PsycINFO, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases. The final synthesis included 75 clinical trials, mixed-methods investigations, treatment manuals, study protocols, quasi-experiments, qualitative investigations, descriptive studies, opinion papers, reviews, books and book chapters, published until 11 November 2022. The effects that various therapeutic approaches for integration sessions have on therapeutic outcomes have not been investigated by means of rigorous research. Most of the available evidence we retrieved was not supported by empirical data, thus limiting any conclusive statements regarding appropriate therapeutic frameworks for integration sessions for SAPT. Current clinical studies have used a range of therapeutic frameworks with the majority drawing from the humanistic-experiential tradition. While integration is regarded as crucial for the safe application of SAPT, there is currently an insufficient evidence base to suggest that any type of therapy is effective for guiding integration sessions. A systematic investigation of different therapeutic frameworks for integration and additional therapy-related factors is needed.

Eating disorder outcomes: findings from a rapid review of over a decade of research

BACKGROUND

Eating disorders (ED), especially Anorexia Nervosa (AN), are internationally reported to have amongst the highest mortality and suicide rates in mental health. With limited evidence for current pharmacological and/or psychological treatments, there is a grave responsibility within health research to better understand outcomes for people with a lived experience of ED, factors and interventions that may reduce the detrimental impact of illness and to optimise recovery. This paper aims to synthesise the literature on outcomes for people with ED, including rates of remission, recovery and relapse, diagnostic crossover, and mortality.

METHODS

This paper forms part of a Rapid Review series scoping the evidence for the field of ED, conducted to inform the Australian National Eating Disorders Research and Translation Strategy 2021-2031, funded and released by the Australian Government. ScienceDirect, PubMed and Ovid/MEDLINE were searched for studies published between 2009 and 2022 in English. High-level evidence such as meta-analyses, large population studies and Randomised Controlled Trials were prioritised through purposive sampling. Data from selected studies relating to outcomes for people with ED were synthesised and are disseminated in the current review.

RESULTS

Of the over 1320 studies included in the Rapid Review, the proportion of articles focused on outcomes in ED was relatively small, under 9%. Most evidence was focused on the diagnostic categories of AN, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder, with limited outcome studies in other ED diagnostic groups. Factors such as age at presentation, gender, quality of life, the presence of co-occurring psychiatric and/or medical conditions, engagement in treatment and access to relapse prevention programs were associated with outcomes across diagnoses, including mortality rates.

CONCLUSION

Results are difficult to interpret due to inconsistent study definitions of remission, recovery and relapse, lack of longer-term follow-up and the potential for diagnostic crossover. Overall, there is evidence of low rates of remission and high risk of mortality, despite evidence-based treatments, especially for AN. It is strongly recommended that research in long-term outcomes, and the factors that influence better outcomes, using more consistent variables and methodologies, is prioritised for people with ED.

Effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for procrastination among university students - A randomized controlled trial study protocol

Procrastination is a widespread problem that is highly prevalent among the young adult population and is associated with several negative consequences. However, current evidence on the effectiveness of e-health interventions for procrastination either lack a comparison to an inactive control, do not include a student population or are of poor quality. This protocol describes the design of a trial that will overcome these limitations and examine the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention (GetStarted) to reduce problematic procrastinating behaviors in college students compared to a waitlist control. This study will be a two-armed randomized controlled trial with a calculated sample size of N = 176. Participants will be students from seven universities in the Netherlands. The intervention group will receive a four-week e-coach-guided intervention for procrastination. The waitlist control group will get access to treatment four weeks after randomization. Assessments will take place at baseline, post-test (4 weeks post-baseline) and follow-up (6 months post-baseline). Data will be analyzed with an intent-to-treat principle. The primary outcome is change in procrastination behaviors measured on the Irrational Procrastination scale (IPS). Secondary outcomes are depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life. Additionally, sociodemographic characteristics of the participants, satisfaction with treatment, program usability, satisfaction with e-coach and treatment adherence will be examined as potential moderators. The results from this study can build evidence for the effectiveness of a guided internet-based intervention for treating procrastination in college students. Should it be effective, GetStarted could provide a flexible, low-intense and cost-effective treatment for procrastination and prevent common mental health problems in college students.

Trial registration

This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov Protocol Registration and Results System (Trial number: NCT05478096).

Language style matching and treatment outcome in anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE

Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice for anorexia nervosa (AN) but mechanisms of action are still largely unknown. Growing research suggests that synchrony between patient and therapist contributes to treatment success. Adding to this literature, this study examined the association between language style matching (LSM) among patient and therapist as an indicator of interpersonal (verbal) synchrony and treatment outcome in AN.

METHOD

Audio recordings of mid-treatment therapy sessions (n = 25) in a multi-centre randomized controlled trial on the Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults were transcribed and used to calculate LSM for each patient-therapist dyad. These scores were used to predict treatment outcome at 12-month follow-up.

RESULTS

LSM did not predict body mass index (primary outcome) at follow-up. However, higher LSM (M = 0.87, SD = 0.04) was associated with lower eating disorder psychopathology (accounting for 11% of the variance) and higher recovery rates (accounting for 28% of variance) at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

These preliminary findings suggest that verbal synchrony between patients with AN and their therapists contributes to favourable treatment outcomes. High levels of LSM may reflect therapeutic empathy, cooperation, or mutual positive perception. Further research should explore the mechanisms of linguistic synchrony with larger samples to allow for stronger conclusions.

Influence of eating disorder psychopathology and general psychopathology on the risk of involuntary treatment in anorexia nervosa

PURPOSE

We explored associations between clinical factors, including eating disorder psychopathology and more general psychopathology, and involuntary treatment in patients with anorexia nervosa. Our intention was to inform identification of patients at risk of involuntary treatment.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study combining clinical data from a specialized eating disorder hospital unit in Denmark with nationwide Danish register-based data. A sequential methodology yielding two samples (212 and 278 patients, respectively) was adopted. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to explore associations between involuntary treatment and clinical factors including previous involuntary treatment, patient cooperation, and symptom-level psychopathology (Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2) and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R)).

RESULTS

Somatization (SCL-90-R) (OR = 2.60, 95% CI 1.16-5.81) and phobic anxiety (SCL-90-R) (OR = 0.43, 95% CI 0.19-0.97) were positively and negatively, respectively, associated with the likelihood of involuntary treatment. Furthermore, somatization (HR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.05-2.99), previous involuntary treatment (HR = 5.0, 95% CI 2.68-9.32), and neutral (HR = 2.92, 95% CI 1.20-7.13) or poor (HR = 3.97, 95% CI 1.49-10.59) patient cooperation were associated with decreased time to involuntary treatment. Eating disorder psychopathology measured by the EDI-2 was not significantly associated with involuntary treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical questionnaires of psychopathology appear to capture specific domains relevant to involuntary treatment. Poor patient cooperation and previous involuntary treatment being associated with shorter time to involuntary treatment raise important clinical issues requiring attention. Novel approaches to acute anorexia nervosa care along with unbiased evaluation upon readmission could mitigate the cycle of repeat admissions with involuntary treatment.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level III, cohort study.

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy for People with Eating Disorders

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

A growing body of research suggests psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) may be safe and effective for a variety of mental health conditions. Among these, eating disorders have been a recent target of interest. This review provides an up-to-date summary of the potential mechanisms and use of PAT in people diagnosed with eating disorders, with a focus on anorexia nervosa.

RECENT FINDINGS

Classic psychedelics may have transdiagnostic efficacy through several mechanisms relevant to eating disorder pathology. Interest in, and efforts to increase access to PAT are both high. Early clinical trials are focused on establishing the safety and utility of this treatment in eating disorders, and efficacy remains unclear. High-quality published data to support the use of PAT for people with eating disorders remains lacking. Recent studies however suggest PAT has the potential to augment the efficacy of current interventions for these difficult-to-treat conditions.

Barriers and facilitators to providing autonomy supportive counselling to individuals seeking treatment for an eating disorder

PURPOSE

Self-determination theory suggests that autonomous motivation for change (i.e., motivation that is internal and self-endorsed) can be enhanced in therapeutic contexts by clinicians acting in an autonomy supportive manner. While previous research has established a link between autonomy support (AS) and autonomous motivation in enhancing outcomes in eating disorder (ED) treatment, few studies have examined factors that support or hinder therapists' ability to be autonomy supportive in the context of an ED therapeutic encounter. The goal of the present study was to conduct a qualitative analysis of personal and contextual factors that facilitated or hindered therapists' ability to provide autonomy supportive interventions.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 therapists conducting outpatient psychotherapy at a specialized eating disorders treatment program. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

The most frequently noted facilitators were organizational support of AS interventions and patients' engagement and motivation for treatment. The most frequently noted barriers were patients' personality variables such as patients that exhibit passive and help-rejecting behaviours, as well as therapists feeling overwhelmed due to a high workload.

CONCLUSION

Our results provide insight into the factors that facilitate and impede the utilization of an autonomy supportive approach in specialized ED treatment and can be used to inform future quantitative research on such factors.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V: Opinions of respected authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.

Estimating the Effect of Motivational Interventions in Patients with Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Motivation to change behavior is seen as an important factor in achieving a better treatment effect in patients with eating disorders (ED). The aim of this systematic review was to assess whether motivational interviewing (MI) and motivational enhancement therapy (MET) might (1) increase motivation to change behavior and (2) improve eating disorder psychopathology (EDP) and body mass index (BMI) in patients with ED. To investigate this, a literature search was conducted on 9 March 2021 on four scientific databases: Cochrane, Embase (Ovid), MEDLINE (PubMed), and PsycInfo (EBSCO). A total of 2647 publications were identified and following a rigorous stepwise procedure to assess titles and abstracts and, thereafter, full texts of relevant publications, 13 studies were included in the data extraction and analyses. A few individual studies (n = 5) found a significant increase in motivation, two a decrease in ED symptoms (n = 2), while none found an effect on BMI. However, the meta-analysis of each outcome found effect sizes near zero, thereby confirming the results of previous narrative reviews that have described a lack of effect of MET/MI on motivation in ED. Since the individual studies differ substantially in design, and the outcomes were inconsistently assessed with regards to instruments and duration, the effect of MET/MI on motivation for behavioral change, ED psychopathology, and BMI is still unclear.

Early development of treatment motivation predicts adherence and symptom reduction in an internet-based guided self-help program for binge eating disorder

OBJECTIVE

Lack of motivation is widely acknowledged as a significant factor in treatment discontinuity and poor treatment outcomes in eating disorders. Treatment adherence is lower in internet-based treatment. The current study aimed to assess the relationship between treatment motivation and treatment outcomes in an internet-based therapist-guided intervention for Binge Eating Disorder (BED).

METHOD

Adults (N = 153) with mild to moderate symptoms of BED participated in a 10-session internet-based treatment program. Baseline and between-session scores of "Readiness to change" and "Belief in change" were used to predict treatment completion and eating disorder symptom reduction (EDE-Q Global, BED-Q, and weekly number of binge eating episodes) at post-treatment.

RESULTS

Baseline treatment motivation could not predict treatment completion or symptom reduction. Early measures of treatment motivation (regression slope from sessions 1-5) significantly predicted both treatment completion and post-treatment symptom reduction. "Belief in change" was the strongest predictor for completing treatment (OR = 2.18, 95%-CI: 1.06, 4.46) and reducing symptoms (EDE-Q Global: B = -0.53, p = 0.001; number of weekly binge eating episodes: B = 0.81, p < 0.01).

DISCUSSION

The results indicated that patients entering online treatment for BED feel highly motivated. However, baseline treatment motivation could not significantly predict treatment completion, which contradicts previous research. The significant predictive ability of early measures of treatment motivation supports the clinical relevance of monitoring the development of early changes to tailor and optimize individual patient care. Further research is needed to examine treatment motivation in regard to internet-based treatment for BED with more validated measures.

A randomized controlled trial of two 10-session cognitive behaviour therapies for eating disorders: An exploratory investigation of which approach works best for whom

Cognitive behaviour therapy for eating disorders (CBT-ED) outperforms other treatments for non-underweight eating disorders in adults, but we have limited ability to match CBT-ED to individual profiles. We examined if we could identify who benefits most from two forms of 10-session CBT-ED; one emphasizing early behaviour change with substantial content on improving body image (CBT-T), and the other including motivational work and no content on body image using chapters from self-help books (CBTm). Participants were 98 consecutive referrals to the Flinders University Services for Eating Disorders. Fourteen clinical psychology postgraduates delivered the treatment under expert supervision. Outcome measures were completed on five occasions: baseline, 4-, 10-, 14- and 22-weeks post-randomisation. Our primary outcome was global eating psychopathology. Moderators included motivation (readiness and confidence to change) and body avoidance and body checking. Intent-to-treat analyses showed no difference between the groups with a significant main effect of time associated with large effect size improvements, commensurate with longer forms of CBT-ED. Participants with lower readiness to change in CBTm had significantly greater decreases in disordered eating over follow-up compared to those with low motivation in CBT-T. People with lower readiness to change might benefit from the incorporation of motivational work in CBT-ED.

Motivation to recover for adolescent and adult eating disorder patients in residential treatment

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to assess how baseline motivation to recover impacts eating disorder (ED) and comorbid symptoms at end-of-treatment (EOT) for adolescents and adults in inpatient/residential treatment.

METHOD

Two hundred and three adolescent (M = 15.90) and 395 adult (M = 25.45) patients with a Diagnostic Statistical Manual, 5th edition ED diagnosis completed the Decisional Balance Scale (DBS) at baseline, and psychosocial measures (ED symptoms, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms), and %body mass index (kg/m² ; BMI) or median %BMI (for adolescents) at baseline and EOT.

RESULTS

The DBS Avoidance Coping and Burdens subscales at baseline were significantly lower for adolescents than adults (p < 0.001), whereas the DBS Benefits subscale at baseline did not significantly differ between subsamples (p = 0.06). Motivation to recover via DBS subscales was a more reliable predictor of EOT outcomes for both ED and comorbid psychopathology in adults (significant predictor in 19 of 54 total analyses, and 4 significant associations post-Bonferroni correction) than adolescents (significant predictor in 5 of 54 total analyses, and 1 significant association post-Bonferroni correction).

CONCLUSIONS

Baseline motivation to recover may be an important predictor of outcome for adult patients in inpatient/residential treatment but does not appear associated with outcomes for adolescent patients.