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Updated: May 11, 2026

Use of a Psychophysiological Script-driven Imagery Experiment to Study Trauma-related Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder
Published on: March 8, 2018
Attachment insecurity mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and eating disorder psychopathology in a
Giorgio A Tasca1, Kerri Ritchie, Fotini Zachariades
1University of Ottawa, Canada; The Ottawa Hospital, Canada; Carleton University, Canada.
Objectives:
Childhood maltreatment occurs often among those with an eating disorder and is considered a nonspecific risk factor. However, the mechanisms by which childhood maltreatment may lead to an eating disorder are not well understood. The current study tests a model in which attachment insecurity is hypothesized to mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and eating disorder psychopathology.
Method:
Treatment seeking adults with eating disorders (N=308) completed questionnaires about childhood maltreatment, eating disorder psychopathology, and adult attachment.
Results:
Structural equation models indicated that childhood trauma had a direct effect on eating disorder symptoms. Also, attachment anxiety and avoidance each equally mediated the childhood maltreatment to eating disorder psychopathology relationship.
Conclusions:
Attachment insecurity, characterized by affect dysregulation and interpersonal sensitivities may help to explain why eating disorder symptoms may be one consequence of childhood maltreatment in a clinical sample. Clinicians treating primarily those with trauma might assess for disordered eating as a potential manifestation of the sequelae of trauma and attachment insecurity.
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