Cognitive rigidity and heightened attention to detail occur transdiagnostically in adolescents with eating disorders.

Cognitive rigidity and heightened attention to detail occur transdiagnostically in adolescents with eating disorders. Eat Disord. 2019 Nov 01;:1-13 Authors: Wang SB, Gray EK, Coniglio KA, Murray HB, Stone M, Becker KR, Thomas JJ, Eddy KT Abstract Cognitive inflexibility and attention to detail bias represent a promising target in eating disorder (ED) treatment. While prior research has found that adults with eating disorders exhibit significant cognitive inflexibility and heightened attention to detail, less is known about these cognitive impairments among adolescents, and across EDs transdiagnostically. To address this gap, adolescent females (N = 143) from a residential ED program with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or other specified feeding or eating disorder completed the Detail and Flexibility Questionnaire (DFlex) and measures of ED and general psychopathology. Transdiagnostically, adolescents with EDs scored higher than an archival sample of healthy control adolescents on both cognitive rigidity (p < .001; Cohen's d = 1.92) and attention to detail (p < .001; Cohen's d = 1.16). These cognitive impairments were significantly associated with severity of eating pathology, and these relationships existed independent of age, duration of illness, or body mass index (BMI). Our findings suggest cognitive inflexibility and heightened attention to detail occur transdiagnostically in adolescents with eating disorders and are un...
Source: Eating Disorders - Category: Eating Disorders & Weight Management Authors: Tags: Eat Disord Source Type: research