Clinical, Psychopathological and Personality Correlates of Interoceptive Awareness in Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia nervosa and Obesity

• Published in: Psychopathology Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 168 - 174
• Main Authors: Fassino, Secondo, Pierò, Andrea, Gramaglia, Carla, Abbate-Daga, Giovanni
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland Karger 01.07.2004; S. Karger AG
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anorexia; Anorexia Nervosa - physiopathology; Anorexia Nervosa - psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Bulimia - physiopathology; Bulimia - psychology; Depression; Eating behavior disorders; Emotions; Female; Humans; Hunger; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; Obesity - physiopathology; Obesity - psychology; Original Paper; Personality; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Satiety Response; Obesity; Hunger; Eating disorders; Personality; Temperament; Emotions; Food; Mood disorder; Human; Interoception; Attitude; Self evaluation; Nutrition disorder; Depression; Food Obesity; Emotion emotionality; Anorexia nervosa; Eating disorder; Bulimia; Symptomatology; Body experience; Predictive factor; Nutritional status; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0254-4962; 1423-033X
• DOI: 10.1159/000079420

Objective: To determine the levels of interoceptive awareness (IA), which measures the ability of an individual to discriminate between sensations and feelings, and between the sensations of hunger and satiety, in eating disorder patients and to identify the clinical, psychopathological and personal variables correlated with IA. Sampling andMethods: Sixty-one restrictor anorectics, 61 binge-purging anorectics, 104 purging bulimics, 49 obese subjects with binge eating disorder (BED) and 47 obese subjects without BED were compared. They were assessed with the Eating Disorder Inventory-2, the Temperament and Character Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory, and their clinical and sociodemographic features were recorded. Results: In all patients, the levels of IA were higher than the ‘normal’ ones; in bulimia nervosa, they were higher than in anorexia nervosa and obesity. Similar personal features and eating attitudes are shared by patients with bulimia nervosa and BED. In the total sample, the following variables independently correlate with IA: the Beck Depression Inventory, self- directedness and persistence. Conclusions: The importance of an altered IA in eating disorders is supported. Both depression and a perfectionist and poorly self-directive personality can lead to greater difficulties in discriminating hunger and satiety.