Attentional bias in eating disorders: study

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between eating disorders and attentional biases. It is concluded that future research should establish whether such biases warrant specific therapeutic interventions.

Objective:

To examine the relationship between eating disorders and attentional biases.

Method:

The first study comprised 23 female patients with clinical eating disorders, women with high levels ofanxiety (n = 19), and three female normal control groups comprising low (n = 31), moderate (n = 21), or high levels of shape concern (n = 23). The second study comprised 82 women with clinical eating disorders and 44 healthy controls. All participants completed measures of eating disorder psychopathology and completed a modified pictorial dot-probe task.

Results:

In the first study, biases were found for negative eating and neutral weight pictures, and for positive eating pictures in women with eating disorders; these biases were greater than those found in anxious and normal controls. The second study replicated these findings and biases were also found for negative and neutral shape stimuli.

Conclusion:

It is concluded that future research should establish whether such biases warrant specific therapeutic interventions. © 2007 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2007

Roz Shafran, PhD, Michelle Lee, PhD, Zafra Cooper, PhD, Robert L. Palmer, FRCPsych, Christopher G. Fairburn, FRCPsych
Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford, England
Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, England

email: Roz Shafran ([email protected])

Correspondence to Roz Shafran, Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Warneford Hospital, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK

Funded by:
The Wellcome Trust; Grant Number: 063209
The Wellcome Trust; Grant Number: 046386

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