Personality features of women with good outcome from restricting anorexia nervosa

Personality characteristics were assessed in women who had physically and, in the majority, psychologically recovered from restricting anorexia nervosa at an 8- to 10-year follow-up. Personality dimensions were evaluated using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire, the California Personality Inventory, and the Reid-Ware Scale. Women who had recovered from anorexia nervosa rated higher on risk avoidance, displayed greater restraint in emotional expression and initiative, and showed greater conformance to authority than age-matched normal women. On comparison with their sisters, the recovered women reported a greater degree of self- and impulse control and less enterprise and spontaneity; sisters, however, endorsed equally high moral standards. The differences in personality characteristics remained significant after statistically controlling for depressive symptoms and eating behavior. The results suggest that a temperamental disposition toward emotional and behavioral restraint combined with a strong sense for traditional values may be psychological risk factors for the development of the restricting type of anorexia nervosa.