Eating Disorders, Emotions, Skill, Coping
Conditions
Keywords
eating disorders, young adults, emotion regulation skills
Brief summary
Emotion regulation difficulties appear to play a role in the development and maintenance of several eating disorders. This pilot study aims at examining whether a short add-on group skills training in emotion regulation for young adults with different eating disorders is feasible in a psychiatric clinical setting. We also investigate if the treatment increases knowledge of emotions, and decreases self-reported difficulties with emotion regulation, alexithymia, symptoms of eating disorder, anxiety and depression, as well as clinical impairment. Six skills training groups were piloted with a total of 29 participants (M = 21.41 years, SD = 1.92). The treatment consists of five sessions dealing with psychoeducation about emotions and emotion regulation skills training. Paired samples t-test was used to compare differences between before-and-after measures.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALAn Adjunctive Emotion Regulation Skills Training
The adjunctive emotion regulation skills training is delivered in a group format once a week during 5 weeks to young adults with eating disorders together with treatment as usual
Sponsors
Region Östergötland
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
A pilot study without randomization or controlled design
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 25 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Being enrolled as a patient at the eating disorder unit at eh child- and adolescent psychiatric clinic in Linköping, Sweden * Having an eating disorder diagnosis as primary diagnosis. * Being between the ages of 18-25 years * Having sufficient knowledge of the Swedish language
Exclusion criteria
* Clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia * Clinical diagnosis of psychosis * Clinical diagnosis of severe autism spectrum disorder * Having a cognitive disability * Having ongoing drug or alcohol abuse * Clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder * Insufficient knowledge of the Swedish language
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) | Change from baseline at 5 weeks | Difficulties with Emotion Regulation Scale measures difficulties with emotion regulation. It contains a total of 36 items that are rated on a Likert scale between 1-5. Total score ranges between 36-180 with higher scores indicating more difficulties with emotion regulation. The scale has 6 subscales: nonacceptance (ranging from 6-30); goals (ranging from 5-25); impulse (ranging from 6-30); awareness (ranging from 6-30); strategies (ranging from 8-40) and clarity (ranging from 5-25). |
| Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) | Change from baseline at 5 weeks | Toronto Alexithymia Scale measures alexithymia. It contains a total of 20 items with 3 subscales (difficulties describing feelings: 7 items ranging from 7-35, difficulties identifying feelings: 5 items ranging from 5-25 and externally oriented thinking: 8 items ranging from 8-40). Total scores range from 20-100 with higher scores indicating higher levels of alexithymia. |
| Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q). | Change from baseline at 5 weeks | The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is the self-report version of Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) and measures the characteristics of eating disorders. The 6.0 version used in this study consists of 28 items. EDE-Q is scored on a 7-point Likert scale, from no days to every day and higher scores indicate higher eating pathology. The total score ranges from 0-196. The questionnaire comprises a total scale and subscales for restraint, eating concerns, shape concerns and weight concerns. |
| The Clinical Impairment Assessment Questionnaire (CIA) | Change from baseline at 5 weeks | The Clinical Impairment Assessment Questionnaire (CIA) measures the psychosocial impairment of eating disorders. It focuses on the last 28 days and consists of 16 items, graded on a Likert scale from Not at all to A lot. Higher scores indicate higher level of secondary psychosocial impairment and the total scores ranges from 0-48. The CIA is designed to be completed immediately after filling in a measure of current eating disorder features that covers the same time frame (e.g., the EDE-Q). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale, self-report version (MADRS-S). | Change from baseline at 5 weeks | Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale measures symptoms of depression. Its main purpose is to monitor the development of symptoms during treatment. The scale consists of 9 items, which are graded from zero to six. Total scores range from 0-54. Higher scores indicate higher level of depression symptoms. |
| Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) | Change from baseline at 5 weeks | Beck's Anxiety Inventory measures symptoms of anxiety with 21 items rated on a four-graded scale (0-3). Total scores range from 0-63. Higher scores indicate higher levels of anxiety. |
Countries
Sweden
Outcome results
None listed