No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Executive functioning (EF) problems may serve as vulnerability or maintenance factors for Binge-Eating Disorder (BED). However, it is unclear if EF problems observed in BED are related to overweight status or BED status. The current study extends this literature by examining EF in overweight-BED (n=32), normal-weight BED (n=23), overweight healthy controls (n=48), and normal-weight healthy controls (n=48). Participants were administered an EF battery which utilized tests from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) toolkit and Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS). After controlling for years of education and minority status, overweight individuals with and without BED performed more poorly than normal-weight individuals with and without BED on a task of cognitive flexibility (p < 0.01) requiring generativity and speed and on psychomotor performance tasks (p < 0.01). Normal-weight and overweight BED performed worse on working memory tasks compared to normal-weight healthy controls (p = 0.04). Unexpectedly, normal-weight BED individuals out-performed all other groups on an inhibitory control task (ps < 0.01). No significant differences were found between the four groups on tasks of planning. Our findings support a link between poorer working memory performance and BED status. Additionally, overweight status is associated with poorer psychomotor performance and cognitive inflexibility. Replication of the finding that normal-weight BED is associated with enhanced inhibitory control is needed. / Psychology

According to the biopsychosocial model of bulimia, neurobiological mechanisms called endophenotypes cause eating disordered behavior. Impulsivity has been identified as a possible endophenotype for bulimia nervosa, and individuals with bulimia who present with multiple forms of impulsive behavior are known to have worse prognoses. Executive dysfunction in impulse control purportedly manifests as behavioral under-regulation in binge-purge episodes. Neuropsychological assessments were used to analyze the relationship between impulsivity and symptoms of bulimia. Twenty-eight inpatient adolescent and young adult women with bulimia completed the D-KEFS Color Word Task, which is a version of the Stroop that contains four trials including the classic Stroop and a switching Stroop, as well as the age appropriate versions of the BRIEF rating scale and a Type-T Survey of thrill-seeking. Performance on these measures was correlated with measures of bulimia symptoms, including the EDI-3, EDE-Q, and variables of illness severity. Delay of gratification was assessed by offering subjects a choice of compensation that was either immediate and smaller or delayed and larger. Mixed results were found. The sample did not differ from the D-KEFS normative sample on total number of errors or on speed of task completion for the switching Stroop, and the sample demonstrated faster performance than the normative sample on the classic Stroop. However, a tendency to favor speed over accuracy of performance was identified. On the BRIEF rating scales, the sample self-reported significantly higher rates of executive dysfunction compared to the normative data. Additionally, some variables of impulsivity, including greater frequency of errors on cognitive tasks and self-reported deficits of executive functioning, were significantly correlated with variables of bulimia symptom severity, including self-reported bulimia symptomatology on the EDI-3 and frequency of bingeing and purgeing. Risk-taking was also found to be correlated with symptoms of bulimia. Differences were found between subjects who chose the immediate prize versus those who chose the delayed prize, including differences in cognitive task performance and symptom severity. Differences were also found for subjects with a comorbid disorder of impulse control, including bipolar disorders and substance abuse. In conclusion, a unilateral deficit of impulse control was not found to be characteristic of this sample; however, a multi-impulsive cohort was identified as having deficits of cognitive impulse control. / School Psychology

This thesis explored the effects of social exclusion on the sense of control. We indexed the sense of control using the sense of agency. The sense of agency refers to the feeling of control over our actions and the outcomes of those actions. We experience the sense of agency at an implicit, pre-reflective level. In other words, we routinely make movements that impact some sort of change in the environment, and simply just know that our actions cause an effect. Experimentally, we can measure the sense of agency using the intentional binding effect. Intentional binding is a temporal illusion in which we perceive the time between our voluntary action and the outcome of that action to be shorted compared to when the same effect is caused by an involuntary action. We conducted three experiments. In experiment one, we used an episodic memory recall task to prime participants to feel socially excluded or socially included. In experiment two, we used a different manipulation of social exclusion and social inclusion called Cyberball. We found that in both experiments, intentional binding was significantly reduced following social exclusion compared to social inclusion and baseline. In experiment three, we investigated the pre-reflective sense of agency in eating disorders. Eating disorders are highly associated with chronic social exclusion experiences and an altered sense of control in life. We found that individuals with higher eating disorder symptomatology experience a lower sense of agency, compared to healthy individuals. Overall, this thesis is the first to demonstrate that social exclusion has observable effects on the sense of agency. We were able to triangulate these findings using another social exclusion manipulation as well, strengthening our original findings. Lastly, we showed that a disorder characterized, in part, by social exclusion, reduces the sense of agency / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Background. The continuation of eating disorders from adolescence into adulthood often requires youth to undergo a healthcare transition from pediatric to adult eating disorder services. This transition is difficult, uncoordinated, and puts affected adolescents at an increased risk of relapse. Although transition barriers and recommendations have been identified, no known interventions exist to support youth and families transitioning to adult eating disorder services. Methods. Over a three-month period, ten 17-year-old adolescents and their parents (n=9) completed up to five intervention components designed to prepare them for the transition out of pediatric eating disorder treatment in Hamilton, Ontario. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to assess intervention feasibility, the nature of transition, and other outcomes, with equal emphasis on the quantitative data, where measures were collected using a single arm pre-post design, and qualitative data, which comprised of written reflection entries and interview data, was informed by Qualitative Description, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results. Quantitative data pertaining to chosen feasibility indicators showed that adolescents and parents completed an average of 73% and 78% of expected components respectively, all within the three-month intervention period. Findings generated from the qualitative data indicated that participants found the intervention helpful, convenient, and easy to navigate. Of the seven adolescents interviewed, most were planning to transition to their family doctor, a private therapist, or both, while awaiting entry to specialized adult mental health care. Conclusions. This intervention is acceptable, feasible, and highlights likely care pathways among transition-age youth with eating disorders. These findings support the continuation of this research using more rigorous study designs to examine the effectiveness of this intervention in larger and more diverse samples. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Most programs that specialize in treating children with eating disorders discharge patients when they turn 18. This sudden change often leaves youth without a solid plan to continue this care as an adult. Currently, no known interventions exist to help with this problem. In our study, ten adolescents and their parents completed five activities designed to improve their transition into adult mental health care. Interviews, reflections, and questionnaires were used to explore multiple outcomes, such as how many or the duration to complete these activities and where they plan to go for adult mental health treatment. Adolescents and parents completed most of the supports, described them as easy and helpful, and set up a plan for their future care. The activities in this study have the potential to improve this difficult transition for youth and families affected by eating disorders and should be further studied.

Research identifies male athletes as a subpopulation at risk for developing eating disorders and disordered eating (ED/DE). Petrie and Greenleaf's sociocultural model proposes that various correlates contribute to the etiology of ED/DE in athletes. Among the correlates, body satisfaction has been identified as a direct precursor to ED/DE symptomatology in male and female athletes. Recent research has noted self-compassion's utility in alleviating the outcomes of poor body image and ED/DE through several pathways. However, researchers have yet to examine self-compassion in relation to body satisfaction and ED/DE in male athletes or the temporal relationship between these variables. This study longitudinally examined the direct and indirect effects of self-compassion on body satisfaction and ED/DE symptomatology in a mixed-sport sample of 452 male collegiate athletes by testing the cross-lagged, temporal relationships among self-compassion, body satisfaction, and ED/DE symptomatology across a four-month time frame. Time 1 self-compassion was neither directly related to Time 2 body satisfaction (β = 0.02, p = .755), nor indirectly to Time 2 ED/DE (β = -0.002, 95% BCaCI [-0.028, 0.014]) when controlling for Time 1 scores. Recent research supports my finding and suggests that the effects of self-compassion on body satisfaction and ED/DE symptomatology may be dependent on gender. In contrast, Time 2 body satisfaction was directly related to Time 2 ED/DE (β = -0.12, p < 0.05), which adds to a substantial body of research in that body satisfaction is a primary antecedent to ED/DE.

This study investigated the connection between Body Dissatisfaction and Drive for Thinness to several psychological correlates: Ineffectiveness, Interpersonal Distrust, Perfectionism, Interoceptive Awareness, and Maturity Fears. Regression analyses indicated that these five correlates together accounted for 23% of the variance in a measure of Body Dissatisfaction. Body Dissatisfaction and the five correlates together accounted for 52% of the variance in a measure of Drive for Thinness. Results of the path analysis confirmed that Ineffectiveness, Interoceptive Awareness and Maturity Fears were the strongest predictors of Body Dissatisfaction. In turn, Body Dissatisfaction, Ineffectiveness and Interoceptive Awareness were the strongest predictors of Drive for Thinness. Gender differences and prevalence rates of eating disordered behavior were reviewed. Consistent with other research, this study confirmed high levels of bingeing and purging behavior (44%) among college men and women. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this dissertation is to identify the variables associated with abstinence from binge-eating disorder and Bulimia Nervosa in the twelve-step recovery program of Overeaters Anonymous. The data were gathered through the completion of a survey by 231 active members of Overeaters Anonymous in the Washington metropolitan area. In addition to assessing the demographic composition of the aforementioned population, the variables that were assessed comprise the 'tools' of Overeaters Anonymous. They include: attendance at OA meetings, reading/writing from the Twelve Step literature, adhering to a food plan, having a sponsor, giving service, taking time for prayer and meditation, and making phone calls to other members. The activities of binge eating and bulimic participants were also examined to determine whether or not statistically significant differences exist between these two populations. Results revealed the typical OA participant to be a college educated (80%), Caucasian (89%) female (84%), between the ages of 34 and 44 (30%), married or living with a partner (44%), and employed in a full-time capacity (71%). Eight-four percent of the respondents were binge eaters, 15% were bulimic, and 1% anorexic. Multiple regression analyses revealed longer lengths of involvement in OA, a decrease in the frequency of relapse or 'slips', performing service, greater attendance at meetings, and progress on the ninth step, to be predictors of abstinence at the .05 level of significance. A lower frequency of relapse was predicted by longer lengths of involvement in OA, greater adherence to a food plan, increased frequency of phone calls to other members, and more time spent writing about one's thoughts and feelings at the .05 level of significance. Lastly, Independent Sample t-tests revealed bulimics to have significantly longer mean lengths of abstinence than did binge eaters. Alternately, the difference in the frequency of relapse or 'slips' between the two populations was not significant, suggesting that both bulimics and binge eaters have a comparable likelihood to relapse or slip back into eating disordered behaviors. / Ph. D.