Background:Research into mental disorders has found mental imagery to be a maintaining factor for psychological distress. However, studies investigating mental imagery in eating disorders are scarce.Aim:The aim of the present study was to compare spontaneous mental imagery related to eating, weight and/or appearance and intrusive prospective imagery in women with an eating disorder with female healthy controls.Methods:Spontaneous mental imagery and intrusive prospective imagery were assessed in adult women with an eating disorder (n = 29) and in female healthy controls (n = 32) using a semi-structured interview and the Impact of Future Events Scale, respectively.Results:In comparison with healthy controls, the spontaneous mental images in individuals with an eating disorder involved more sensory modalities (U = 156.50, p < .001, r = –.51), were more vivid (t (52) = 2.04, p = .047, d = .55), negative (U = 103.00, p < .001, r = –.62), and anxiety provoking (U = 158.50, p < .001, r = –.49), and were experienced with a lower sense of control (U = 215.00, p = .009, r = –.36). The emotional impact of intrusive prospective imagery (U = 105.00, p < .001, r = –.66) was also higher in individuals with an eating disorder, as was the number of negative prospective images (U = 283.00, p = .016, r = –.31).Conclusions:Our findings are consistent with previous research on mental imagery in other psychiatric disorders, and provide possibilities for incorporating imagery-based techniques in treatment interventions.

中文翻译：

---

想象一下食物、体重和形状：与健康对照组相比，饮食失调女性的心理意象

背景：对精神障碍的研究发现，心理意象是造成心理困扰的一个维持因素。然而，研究饮食失调的心理意象的研究很少。目的：本研究的目的是比较与饮食、体重和/或外表有关的自发心理意象，以及饮食失调女性与女性健康对照组的侵入性前瞻性意象。方法：对患有进食障碍的成年女性（n= 29) 和女性健康对照组 (n= 32）分别使用半结构化访谈和未来事件影响量表。结果：与健康对照组相比，饮食失调个体的自发心理图像涉及更多的感觉方式（ü= 156.50,p< .001,r= –.51), 更加生动 (吨(52) = 2.04,p= .047,d= .55), 负 (ü= 103.00,p< .001,r= –.62) 和引起焦虑的 (ü= 158.50,p< .001,r= –.49), 并体验到较低的控制感 (ü= 215.00,p= .009,r= –.36)。侵入性前瞻性意象的情绪影响（ü= 105.00,p< .001,r= –.66）在饮食失调的个体中也更高，负面预期图像的数量也是如此（ü= 283.00,p= .016,r= –.31). 结论：我们的研究结果与之前对其他精神疾病中心理意象的研究一致，并为将基于意象的技术纳入治疗干预提供了可能性。