Adverse childhood experiences among a treatment-seeking sample of adults with eating disorders

Renee D. Rienecke*, Craig Johnson, Philip S. Mehler, Daniel Le Grange, Jamie Manwaring, Alan Duffy, Susan McClanahan, Dan V. Blalock

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among adults with eating disorders (EDs), to assess whether experiencing a greater number of ACEs is associated with more severe ED psychopathology, and to determine whether ACEs predict treatment outcome. Method: Participants were 1819 patients (88.5% female, ages 18–72) admitted to one of two treatment facilities at inpatient, residential, or partial hospitalisation levels of care. The Adverse Childhood Experiences Survey and the Eating Pathology Symptom Inventory (EPSI) were completed at admission and the EPSI at discharge. Results: Female patients reported higher ACEs than males (p = 0.03), and all diagnoses except avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder had significantly higher ACEs than patients with anorexia nervosa-restricting type (AN-R) (p's < 0.01). Across diagnoses, higher ACEs were associated with decreases in binge eating scores during treatment, but were not associated with changes in purging or restricting. Within diagnoses, higher ACEs scores were associated with decreases in purging for patients with AN-R and increases in purging for patients with binge eating disorder. Conclusions: Results partially supported the hypothesis that higher ACEs would be associated with more severe ED psychopathology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)156-167
Number of pages12
JournalEuropean Eating Disorders Review
Volume30
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2022

Keywords

  • adults
  • adverse childhood experiences
  • eating disorders
  • treatment outcome

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Clinical Psychology

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