This work was undertaken to analyze general levels of anger in patients with eating disorders (ED) compared to a normative group, diagnosis-dependent differences in expressing anger, and the relation between anger dimensions and specific items of the Eating Disorder Inventory, third revision (EDI-3) (emotional dysregulation, interpersonal deficit, low self-esteem, and asceticism) and body mass index (BMI).
Methods: The study participants were 58 women with a diagnosis of ED hospitalized at the Reina Sofia General University Hospital in Murcia. The women had a mean age of 25.68 (SD=7.00) years. The distribution of ED diagnoses was 27.58% anorexia nervosa with food restriction (AN-R), 15.51% anorexia nervosa with purging (AN-P), 41.37% bulimia nervosa (BN), and 15.51% eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). ED was evaluated using the EDI-3 and anger was assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-2 (STAXI-2).
Results: The general anger levels of the patients with ED were higher than those of the normative group compared. Patients diagnosed of AN-R had significantly higher scores than patients diagnosed of BN on the internal control of anger scale. The emotional dysregulation, interpersonal deficit, low self-esteem, and asceticism scales correlated significantly with different anger dimensions. No significant relation was found between body mass index (BMI) and anger.
Conclusions: These results show the importance of including anger management in any therapeutic approach to EDs.