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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

A Computer-Based Platform for Aiding Clinicians in Eating Disorder Analysis and Diagnosis
Published on: May 10, 2022
Personality dimensions among women with an eating disorder: towards reconceptualizing DSM
Giorgio A Tasca1, Natasha Demidenko, Valerie Krysanski
1The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa, Canada. gtasca@ottawahospital.on.ca
Objective:
To evaluate the incremental validity of a dimensional assessment of personality, after controlling for diagnostic category, in accounting for meaningful variation in eating disorder attitudes and behaviours and in current affective distress among a clinical sample of eating disordered women.
Methods:
244 treatment seeking eating disordered women and 116 non-eating disordered women were assessed with the NEO five factor inventory (NEO-FFI), and with measures of eating disorder attitudes and of affective distress using a cross sectional design.
Results:
As predicted, differences were found between eating disordered and non-eating disordered women on several NEO-FFI scales, which provided a context for subsequent analyses. NEO-FFI scales accounted for meaningful variation in eating disordered attitudes and behaviours as well as in levels of current affective distress over and above DSM-IV diagnostic category.
Conclusion:
A flexible approach to diagnosis, which includes personality dimensions along with a description of eating disorder symptoms, may result in a more inclusive and useful diagnostic scheme for treating women with eating disorders.
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