Dissociative symptoms among patients with eating disorders: associated feature or artifact of a comorbid dissociative disorder?

Abstract

p. 028-036We examined the relationship between eating disorders and dissociative symptoms. Seventy-six subjects were 52 females diagnosed as having either an eating disorder without a comorbid dissociative disorder (n = 14), an eating disorder with a comorbid dissociative disorder (n = 14), a dissociative disorder without a comorbid eating disorder (n = 14), or were normal controls (n = 14). All subjects were administered a variety of objective assessment instruments measuring dissociative and eating disorder symptomatology. Pathological dissociative experiences as measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale were generally found only among the patients with dissociative disorders (with or without an eating disorder). However, both eating disorder groups endorsed a variety of eating-related dissociative experiences. None of the observed effects appeared to be moderated by depressive symptomatology. The data do support the hypothesis that dissociative phenomena, independent of a comorbid dissociative disorder, may be related to the psychopathology of eating disorders. These data also add to the body of evidence demonstrating the ability of objective assessment instruments to accurately identify patients with dissociative disorders