Personality Variables and Eating Pathology

Allison F Wagner; Kelly M Vitousek

doi:10.1016/j.psc.2018.10.012

Personality Variables and Eating Pathology

Psychiatr Clin North Am. 2019 Mar;42(1):105-119. doi: 10.1016/j.psc.2018.10.012. Epub 2018 Dec 17.

Authors

Allison F Wagner¹, Kelly M Vitousek²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki C400, Honolulu, HI 96826, USA. Electronic address: afwagner@hawaii.edu.
² Department of Psychology, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 2530 Dole Street, Sakamaki C400, Honolulu, HI 96826, USA.

PMID: 30704632
DOI: 10.1016/j.psc.2018.10.012

Abstract

Personality variables have long been implicated in the onset and maintenance of eating disorders, as well as in symptom divergence between anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Clinical observations are broadly supported by the data, with restricting anorexia nervosa associated with higher levels of constraint and Persistence, and binge-purge behaviors linked to the tendency to take impulsive action when emotionally distressed. Considerable heterogeneity is found within diagnostic categories, however, suggesting that different personality structures may predispose individuals to develop disordered eating through alternative pathways.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Bulimia nervosa; Eating disorders; Impulsivity; Perfectionism; Personality.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Anorexia Nervosa / physiopathology*
Bulimia Nervosa / physiopathology*
Humans
Impulsive Behavior / physiology*
Perfectionism*
Personality Disorders / physiopathology*