Personality Functioning in Inpatients With Eating Disorders: Association With Symptom Severity and Treatment Outcome

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

  • Sophia Heinzmann - , University of Freiburg, Protestant University of Applied Sciences Freiburg (Author)
  • Sonja Etzler - , University of Freiburg, Goethe University Frankfurt a.M. (Author)
  • Armin Hartmann - , University of Freiburg (Author)
  • Eva M. Klein - , University of Freiburg (Author)
  • Stephan Herpertz - , Ruhr University Bochum (Author)
  • Magdalena Pape - , University of Bamberg (Author)
  • Stanislav Heinzmann - , University of Freiburg (Author)
  • Stephan Doering - , Medical University of Vienna (Author)
  • Tobias Hofmann - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), DRK Kliniken Berlin (Author)
  • Matthias Rose - , Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Author)
  • Katrin Imbierowicz - , University of Bonn (Author)
  • Franziska Geiser - , University of Bonn (Author)
  • Antonie Bierling - , Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Kerstin Weidner - , Department of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden (Author)
  • Jörg Rademacher - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Silke Michalek - , University Hospital Duesseldorf (Author)
  • Eva Morawa - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Yesim Erim - , Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (Author)
  • Eva Maria Skoda - , LVR University Hospital Essen (Author)
  • Martin Teufel - , LVR University Hospital Essen (Author)
  • Eva Milena Johanne Peters - , Justus Liebig University Giessen (Author)
  • Johannes Kruse - , Justus Liebig University Giessen (Author)
  • Dirk von Boetticher - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Christoph Herrmann-Lingen - , University of Göttingen (Author)
  • Mariel Noehre - , Hannover Medical School (MHH) (Author)
  • Martina de Zwaan - , Hannover Medical School (MHH) (Author)
  • Ulrike Dinger - , University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Hans Christoph Friederich - , Heidelberg University  (Author)
  • Alexander Niecke - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Christian Albus - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Rüdiger Zwerenz - , University Medical Center Mainz (Author)
  • Manfred Beutel - , University Medical Center Mainz (Author)
  • Casper Roenneberg - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Peter Henningsen - , Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Author)
  • Barbara Stein - , Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg (Author)
  • Christiane Waller - , Paracelsus Medical University Nuremberg (Author)
  • Karsten Hake - , University of Rostock (Author)
  • Carsten Spitzer - , University of Rostock (Author)
  • Andreas Stengel - , Klinikum Stuttgart, University Hospital Tübingen (Author)
  • Stephan Zipfel - , University Hospital Tübingen, University of Tübingen (Author)
  • Katja Weimer - , Ulm University (Author)
  • Harald Gündel - , Ulm University (Author)
  • Henrik Kessler - , Ruhr University Bochum, University of Marburg (Author)
  • Derek Spieler - , University of Freiburg (Author)
  • Claas Lahmann - , University of Freiburg (Author)
  • Almut Zeeck - , University of Freiburg (Author)

Abstract

Objective: Impairment in personality functioning (PF) has been linked to a number of mental disorders, including eating disorders (EDs). However, the precise relationship between PF and symptom severity, as well as the potential impact on outcome, remains unclear. The study aimed to analyse the association of PF and its change with severity of ED symptomatology as well as outcome of hospital treatment. Method: The sample consisted of 397 patients with EDs, treated in 19 university hospitals for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy in Germany between 1/2019 and 12/2020. PF was measured with the Structure Questionnaire of the Operationalised Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-SQ, short version), eating psychopathology with the ED examination questionnaire (EDE-Q). Outcome was defined as a change in the EDE-Q total score. We used Latent Change Score Modelling to analyse changes in ED pathology during treatment and a 1-year follow-up period. Results: A higher level of impairment in PF at admission correlated with more eating psychopathology and a less favourable outcome. Additionally, greater improvement in PF correlated with greater improvements in ED symptomatology at discharge. Conclusion: Impairment in PF needs to be part of diagnostic assessments and should be considered an important treatment target for psychotherapeutic interventions. Trial Registration: The MEPP study was registered in the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS, www.drks.de; ID: DRKS00016412).

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)776-786
Number of pages11
JournalEuropean eating disorders review
Volume33
Issue number4
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 39962364
ORCID /0000-0003-3372-1106/work/203070920
ORCID /0009-0007-9140-4068/work/203814108

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • eating disorder, inpatient, latent change score model, personality functioning, psychotherapy