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Individuals with eating disorders are said to be highly ambivalent towards change and thus have difficulty maintaining a commitment to, and motivation for, treatment. Self-Determination Theory postulates that autonomous motivation for therapy exists when individuals view their participation as freely chosen. Objective The present study was designed to ascertain whether or not autonomous motivation was associated with treatment response in individuals with bulimia-spectrum eating disorders (BSED). Method One hundred and fifty-five women with DSM-IV-TR BSED participated in multimodal group therapy and completed measures to assess motivation, eating and comorbid symptoms. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analyses demonstrated that higher levels of autonomous motivation at pretreatment predicted lower post-treatment scores on measures of eating preoccupations (shape, weight and eating concerns), binge eating, anxiety/depression, relationship to self and others and impulsivity. Discussion These results indicate that autonomous motivation may be an important predictor of outcome following treatment for BSED. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We sought to estimate prevalences of childhood emotional abuse (CEA) in bulimic and normal-eater control groups, and to replicate previous findings linking CEA to severity of eating symptoms in BN. We also examined potential mediators of the link between CEA and disordered eating. Method: Women diagnosed with a bulimic disorder ( n = 176) and normal-eater women ( n = 139) were assessed for childhood traumata, eating-disorder (ED) symptoms and psychopathological characteristics (ineffectiveness, perfectionism, depression, and affective instability) thought to be potential mediators of interest. Results: CEA was more prevalent in the bulimic than in the nonbulimic group, and predicted severity of some eating-symptom indices. Ineffectiveness and affective instability both mediated relationships between CEA and selected ED symptoms. Discussion: We found CEA to predict eating pathology through mediating effects of ineffectiveness and affective instability. CEA might influence severity of ED symptoms by impacting an individual's self-esteem and capacity for affect regulation. © 2011 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2012) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]