Abstract

The current study had the aim to assess whether temperamental traits mediate the relationship between time of puberty and eating disorder (ED) severity using a sample of 292 outpatients with EDs [68 with Anorexia Nervosa Restrictive Type (AN-R), 101 with Anorexia Nervosa Binge Purging Type (AN-BP), 72 with Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and 51 with Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED)]. Age of puberty, the severity of EDs, and temperamental traits were assessed through Demographic and Medical History Form, Eating Disorder Examination 17.0d (EDE-17.0d) and Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R), with a focus on the temperament scales: novelty seeking (TCI-NS), harm avoidance (TCI-HA), reward dependence (TCI-RD) and persistence (TCI-P). One-way ANOVA, correlation, and mediating analyses through structural equation modeling were performed to test the relationship between variables under investigation and assess if the four temperamental traits act as mediators in the relationship between time of puberty and ED severity. The results show a full mediating effect of the temperamental sub-scales on the relationship between puberty and EDE-17. In particular, TCI-R HA showed a complementary mediation on the relationship between age of puberty and EDE-17.0d, meaning that age of puberty increases the level of TCI-R HA, which in turn increases the severity of ED, confirming that this temperamental trait plays an important role in the development of ED after puberty. To conclude, temperamental traits seem to play a full mediating role in the relationship between puberty and ED severity, but more research is needed.

摘要

目前的研究旨在评估气质特征是否介导了青春期时间与饮食失调 (ED) 严重程度之间的关系，使用 292 名 ED 门诊患者的样本 [68 名患有神经性厌食症 (AN-R)，101 名患有神经性厌食症暴饮暴食型 (AN-BP)，72 人患有神经性贪食症 (BN)，51 人患有其他特定的进食障碍 (OSFED)]。青春期年龄、ED 的严重程度和气质特征通过人口统计学和病史表、饮食失调检查 17.0d (EDE-17.0d) 和气质和性格量表修订版 (TCI-R) 进行评估，重点是气质量表：寻求新奇（TCI-NS）、避免伤害（TCI-HA）、奖励依赖（TCI-RD）和坚持（TCI-P）。单向方差分析、相关性、并通过结构方程模型进行中介分析，以测试所研究变量之间的关系，并评估四种气质特征是否在青春期时间与 ED 严重程度之间的关系中起中介作用。结果表明，气质分量表对青春期和 EDE-17 之间的关系具有完全中介作用。特别是，TCI-R HA 在青春期年龄与 EDE-17.0d 之间的关系上显示出互补的中介作用，这意味着青春期年龄增加了 TCI-R HA 的水平，这反过来又增加了 ED 的严重程度，证实了这一点气质特征在青春期后ED的发展中起重要作用。总而言之，气质特征似乎在青春期和 ED 严重程度之间的关系中发挥了充分的中介作用，但还需要更多的研究。