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Dissertation
Development and testing of measures to assess weight-related motivations for dieting in eating disordered individuals
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Drexel University
May 2010
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-3338
Abstract
Motivations for dieting are an important dimension to evaluate in the development and maintenance of eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN). Existing measures for these disorders have a number of limitations. Drive for thinness has been implicated as an important factor in BN. However, measures of this construct, such as the Drive for Thinness scale (DFT), appear to measure a desire to be thinner, but not the radical dieting mentality thought to contribute to the development of disordered eating. The Drive for Objective Thinness (DFOT) scale was developed by the author to assess desire to be objectively thin. The DFOT was previously found to be uniquely endorsed by a clinical population of individuals with BN compared to other motivations for dieting and helped to differentiate pathological from non-pathological dieting. In the current study, the DFOT displayed sufficient internal consistency and validity in a clinical population and was similarly related to associated forms eating disordered psychopathology compared to established measures such as the GFFS, EDE, and EDI. The DFOT significantly predicted treatment outcomes in BN spectrum individuals including various forms of psychopathology and length of stay. A secondary goal of this study was to develop a measure which assesses how motivated AN individuals are to avoid treatment goal weight, defined as 90% of ideal body weight. The Fear of Treatment Goal Weight Scale (FTGW) removed the subjectivity that terms such as 'fatness' possess by providing an objective body weight and had greater variability than 'fear of fatness' among ANs. An initial use of the FTGW established sufficient internal consistency and validity in a clinical population. These novel measures were similarly related to associated forms eating and mood disordered psychopathology compared to established measures. Over the course of treatment, FTGW increased in AN individuals and significantly predicted treatment outcomes in this population. Both the DFOT and FTGW appeared to have incremental validity in predicting multiple outcomes above established measures of motivations for dieting. Utilization of these novel measures may be important in combination with existing measures of psychopathology for identifying individuals who are most appropriate for treatment. Moreover, the high endorsement of these measures in eating disordered psychopathology highlights the need for treatment approaches to address these treatment resistant constructs.
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Details
- Title
- Development and testing of measures to assess weight-related motivations for dieting in eating disordered individuals
- Creators
- Yelena Chernyak - DU
- Contributors
- Michael R. Lowe (Advisor) - Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 3338; 991014632170704721