Personality traits in women with anorexia nervosa: evidence for a treatment-seeking bias?

Objective: Several personality traits have been associated with anorexia nervosa (AN) in treatment-seeking samples of patients. The current study used a population-based sample to compare the personality characteristics of women with AN who sought treatment versus those who did not. Method: Particip...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of eating disorders 2005, Vol.37 (1), p.32-37
Main Authors: Perkins, P.S, Klump, K.L, Iacono, W.G, McGue, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Anorexia
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa - genetics
Anorexia Nervosa - psychology
Anorexia Nervosa - therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Eating behavior disorders
Eating disorders
Female
Health Behavior
Health Services - utilization
human behavior
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Medical sciences
medical treatment
mental health
non-treatment seekers
Personality
personality traits
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
psychosocial factors
treatment seekers
Women
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Summary:Objective: Several personality traits have been associated with anorexia nervosa (AN) in treatment-seeking samples of patients. The current study used a population-based sample to compare the personality characteristics of women with AN who sought treatment versus those who did not. Method: Participants included 27 (14 treatment-seekers, 13 non-treatment-seekers) women with threshold or subthreshold AN and 273 (64 treatment seekers, 209 non-treatment seekers) comparison women from the Minnesota Twin Family Study. Personality was assessed with the higher-order factors and primary scales of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Results: Non-treatment-seeking women showed lower levels of negative emotionality, stress reaction, and alienation than treatment-seeking women. Discussion: These results suggest that personality deviations may be overestimated in treatment-seeking samples.
ISSN:0276-3478
1098-108X
DOI:10.1002/eat.20064