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Although treatment dropout is common among patients with eating disorders, very few studies have examined predictors of non‐completion in day treatment. We investigated various potential predictors of dropout from adult day treatment. Participants were 295 adult patients with a diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa (restricting or binge‐eating/purging subtype), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder, or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. Predictors included eating‐disorder characteristics, motivation at the commencement of treatment, Body Mass Index (BMI), time spent in treatment and personality dimensions. Logistic regression analyses showed that for patients with a BMI of less than 20 at the start of treatment, low BMI was a significant predictor of staff‐initiated termination due to not meeting weight gain goals. Furthermore, completing less than 6 weeks of treatment was associated with staff‐initiated termination. For the whole sample, those with higher changes in weight over the course of treatment were less likely to terminate prematurely. None of the other predictor variables yielded significant results. Results of the current study highlight characteristics of patients who are more likely not to complete day treatment and can help identify patients who may be at risk for not succeeding in multi‐diagnostic day treatment programs. Highlights: For patients attending day treatment, low BMI at the start of treatment was a significant predictor of staff‐initiated discharge in participants who entered the program with a BMI < 20For all patients, larger changes in BMI over the course of treatment predicted higher likelihood of completing treatmentResults can help identify which patients may be at risk for not succeeding in multi‐diagnostic day treatment programs and address this risk in the transition to a higher level of care from lower levels [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Identifying modifiable predictors of outcomes following treatment for eating disorders may help to tailor interventions to patients' individual needs, improve treatment efficacy, and develop new interventions. The goal of this meta‐analysis was to quantify the association between pretreatment motivation and posttreatment changes in eating disorder symptomology. Method: We reviewed 196 longitudinal studies reporting on change on indices of overall eating‐disorder symptomatology, weight gain, binge‐eating, vomiting, anxiety/depression, and treatment adherence. Meta‐analyses were performed using two complementary approaches: (a) combined probability analysis using the added Z's method; (b) effect size analyses. Using random‐effect models, effect sizes were pooled when there were at least three studies with the same type of statistical design and reporting statistics on the same outcome. Heterogeneity in study outcome was evaluated using Q and I2 statistics. Studies were reviewed qualitatively when the number of studies or reported data were insufficient to perform a meta‐analysis. Results: Forty‐two articles were included. Although samples and treatments differed substantially across studies, results across studies were remarkably consistent. Both combined‐probability and effect‐size analyses indicated positive effects of pretreatment motivation on improvement in general eating‐disorder symptoms (Cohen's r =.17), and an absence of effects on anxiety/depression symptoms. Remaining outcome indices were subject to selective reporting and/or small sample size bias. Discussion: Our findings underscore the importance of incorporating treatment engagement approaches in the treatment of eating disorders. Optimal reporting of study findings and improving study quality would improve future efforts to obtain an in‐depth understanding of the relationship between motivation and eating disorder symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]