Relationship between Trauma History and Eating Disorders in Adolescents
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Relationship between Trauma History and Eating Disorders in Adolescents Taylor Groth 1
&
Mark Hilsenroth 1 & Dana Boccio 1 & Jerold Gold 1
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Abstract Reasons for developing an eating disorder (ED) are complex, yet one plausible risk factor gaining more relevance in adolescents with EDs is childhood trauma. The current study is the first to examine the presence of childhood trauma in relation to ED symptomatology in adolescents using DSM-5 criteria. It was hypothesized that patients with more traumatic experiences also have more severe ED symptoms. 112 therapists currently treating adolescent patients diagnosed with an ED completed an online survey consisting of a DSM-5 ED symptom checklist and a childhood trauma questionnaire on a current adolescent patient whom they have seen for at least eight sessions. Children with multiple traumatic experiences and the severity of those experiences demonstrated a relationship to overall ED (r = .179, p = .059) and bulimia symptoms (r = .183, p = .054), specifically binging (r = .188, p = .047). and purging (r = .217, p = .021). In addition, logistic regression analyses indicated that adolescents high on bulimia nervosa (B = 4.694, p = .044) were more likely to have been traumatized victims of violence. Exploratory analyses support prior literature that suggest similarities between adolescents’ lack of control of the experienced trauma(s) with lack of control of ED symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of exploring trauma history when treating an adolescent with an ED, especially bulimia. Keywords Trauma . Adolescents . Eating disorders . Bulimia
Despite the extensive literature on adults with EDs (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2017), there is much less research on adolescents. The NIMH reported that the lifetime prevalence of EDs within U.S. adolescents, aged 13 to 18, was 2.7%, occurring twice as frequently in females (3.8%) than males (1.5%) (NIMH, 2017). The prevalence rates of EDs also showed an increase with age during adolescence. However, the NIMH did not conduct prevalence rates by ED type, for Anorexia Nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Binge Eating Disorder (BED) or Other Specific Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED). Previously, Swanson et al. (2011) sought to advance the literature by examining the prevalence and correlates of EDs in adolescents from a large sample of population-based surveys. Swanson and colleagues found
* Taylor Groth [email protected] 1
Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, 158 Cambridge Avenue, Room 302, Garden City, NY 11530, USA
the lifetime prevalence to be 0.3% AN, 0.9% BN, and 1.6% BED with the median age of onset being approximately 12 years old. In addition, BN and BED were frequently comorbid with other psychiatric disorders, and AN was most associated with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. In regard to treatment, no treatment attendance or success rates could be located. However, Rome and colleagues concluded that recognizing and t
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