@misc{13614, abstract = {{This study examined the role of muscularity concerns in eating disorder (ED) symptoms among a sample of women. We expanded on previous research by exploring a broader range of ED symptoms, including orthorexia (ON) and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Using network analysis, we analysed data from 308 adult women (18 years or older) who completed muscularity, disordered eating, and sociodemographic assessments. Our findings revealed five interconnected symptom communities reflecting traditional ED symptoms, such as eating concerns and shape and weight overvaluation. Notably, muscularity concerns emerged as a distinct community, emphasising their relevance to ED symptoms in women. Additionally, we identified selective eating tendencies and compulsive healthy eating. Highly central symptoms were rumination about healthy eating, fear and guilt over unhealthy eating, body‐related embarrassment, and muscularity concerns (wishing to be heavier, wishing for heavier arms). These results suggest that muscularity concerns could constitute a uniquely identifiable and central diagnostic target for body image concerns and disordered eating in women.}}, author = {{Jürgensen, Vanessa and Halbeisen, Georg and Lehe, Martin S. and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{European Eating Disorders Review}}, issn = {{1099-0968}}, keywords = {{body dysmorphia, drive for muscularity, eating disorders, psychotherapy, thinness ideal}}, number = {{5}}, pages = {{864--878}}, publisher = {{Wiley}}, title = {{{Muscularity Concerns and Disordered Eating Symptoms in Adult Women: A Network Analysis}}}, doi = {{10.1002/erv.3192}}, volume = {{33}}, year = {{2025}}, } @misc{13575, abstract = {{Background: Adolescents' early responses and overall outcomes during anorexia nervosa (AN) treatment may differ by patient gender, raising the question of whether evaluating clinical data during AN treatment may require different criteria. Methods: We investigated, using patient records, whether young men and young women with AN differed in terms of early treatment response (defined as weight change and variability within the first 14 days) and whether early treatment responses predicted treatment outcomes similarly across genders. Results: Weight changes predicted patient discharge weight across all gender groups. Weight variability predicted higher disordered eating psychopathology and higher body image insecurities at discharge. Gender differences emerged only for weight gain, which was more pronounced for young men, and gender modulated the effects of weight gain and variability on general psychopathology outcomes. Conclusions: The present findings suggest that early weight changes and weight variability are similarly important predictors of AN treatment outcomes in adolescents but also hint at possible gender differences in terms of the link between weight change and, respectively, variability on general psychopathology.}}, author = {{Halbeisen, Georg and Braks, Karsten and Huber, Thomas J. and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{Journal of Clinical Medicine}}, issn = {{2077-0383}}, keywords = {{eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder : adolescents, psychotherapyt, reatment outcomes}}, number = {{11}}, publisher = {{MDPI }}, title = {{{Exploring Gender Differences in Early Weight Change and Variability in Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa during Inpatient Treatment}}}, doi = {{10.3390/jcm13113255}}, volume = {{13}}, year = {{2024}}, } @misc{13576, abstract = {{Background Many young women are dissatisfied with their bodies. This study investigated the effect on current body dissatisfaction levels of a newly developed evaluative conditioning procedure that paired self-similar and self-dissimilar images of bodies with positive and neutral affective images, respectively. We hypothesized that learning the contingency that self-similar bodies predict positive affectivity is one process that could aid in explaining how these procedures function. Methods Adult women without disordered eating pathology participated in an online experiment with random assignment to an intervention or a control condition. All participants initially rated body images in self-similarity and were subsequently asked to categorize positive and neutral images by valence as quickly and accurately as possible. In the intervention condition, self-similar bodies systematically preceded positive images, and self-dissimilar images preceded neutral images, creating a similar body → positive contingency. Pairings in the control condition were unsystematic such that no contingency was present. We measured categorization latencies and accuracies to infer contingency learning as well as current body dissatisfaction immediately before and after exposure to the pairings. All participants further completed measures of trait body image concerns and disordered eating psychopathology at baseline, which we examined as moderators of an expected relation between condition assignment, contingency learning, and body dissatisfaction improvements. Results We analyzed data from N = 173 women fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Moderated mediation analyses showed that assignment to the intervention (vs. control) condition predicted increased similar body → positive contingency learning, which in turn predicted improved body dissatisfaction post-intervention, but only among women with higher pre-existing trait body image concerns or disordered eating levels. Conclusions The findings point toward the relevancy of further exploring the utility of pairing procedures. Similar body → positive contingency learning predicted improved body dissatisfaction in individuals with normatively high body image concerns, which suggests pairing procedures could help inform future research on reducing body dissatisfaction.}}, author = {{Dumstorf, Katharina and Halbeisen, Georg and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{Journal of Eating Disorders}}, issn = {{2050-2974}}, keywords = {{Evaluative conditioning, Body image, Eating disorders, Contingency learning, Psychotherapy, Pairing procedures}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{BioMed Central}}, title = {{{How evaluative pairings improve body dissatisfaction in adult women: evidence from a randomized-controlled online study}}}, doi = {{10.1186/s40337-024-00975-4}}, volume = {{12}}, year = {{2024}}, } @misc{13616, abstract = {{Objective Body dissatisfaction is an important risk factor for developing eating disorders. This study investigated whether pairing images of normatively “healthy” weight bodies of women with positive stimuli, and images of bodies outside the healthy range (e.g., underweight) with neutral stimuli, could improve body dissatisfaction. Methods We compared behavioral and rating data from 121 adult women who participated in an online study and were randomly assigned to an intervention condition (in which healthy body mass predicted positive stimuli) or a control condition (with no contingency between body mass and stimulus valence). Results Behavioral data showed that women in the intervention condition, compared to the control condition, learned to associate healthy bodies with positive valence. Having learned to associate healthy bodies with positive valence, in turn, predicted reductions in body dissatisfaction. The intervention and control conditions were not directly associated with changes in body dissatisfaction. Conclusion Learning to associate healthy bodies with any positive stimuli could be a relevant mechanism for understanding and predicting improvements in women's body dissatisfaction. Further research is required regarding the impact of contingency learning on the evaluation of other bodies, and the selection of other bodies for body-related social comparison processes.}}, author = {{Tullius, Elena M. and Halbeisen, Georg and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{Journal of Psychiatric Research}}, issn = {{1879-1379 }}, keywords = {{Evaluative conditioning, Body image, Eating disorders, Contingency learning, Psychotherapy}}, pages = {{340--348}}, publisher = {{Elsevier BV}}, title = {{{Can evaluative pairings of others’ bodies improve body dissatisfaction indirectly? A randomized-controlled online study with adult women}}}, doi = {{10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.11.012}}, volume = {{180}}, year = {{2024}}, } @misc{13619, abstract = {{Objective Eating disorders (EDs) increasingly emerge as a health risk in men, but there is concern that men's symptoms go unnoticed due to stereotypical perceptions and gender-related differences in symptom presentation. Novel assessments focused particularly on attitudes and behaviours towards increasing muscle size and definition. Using network analysis, this study aimed to corroborate and extend previous findings on disordered eating presentation in men by examining the role of muscularity concerns among an extended range of disordered eating symptoms. Method N = 294 adult men (18 years or older) completed muscularity-related and disordered eating assessments, among which we included assessments for orthorexic eating and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder for the first time. We selected symptoms empirically, estimated a regularised network, identified symptom communities, evaluated network loadings and bridge centrality estimates, and compared network structures between different groups of participants. Results We identified five symptom communities related to muscularity-related concerns, features of core ED psychopathology, and selective eating. Symptoms regarding ruminating about healthy eating, guilt for unhealthy eating, weight overvaluation, concerns about muscularity, and selective eating emerged as highly central. Discussion The results largely corroborate previous observations but suggest that muscle-building behaviours are part of a broader cluster of male body shaping and rule-based dieting behaviours. }}, author = {{Eschrich, R. Leopold and Halbeisen, Georg and Steins‐Loeber, Sabine and Timmesfeld, Nina and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{ European eating disorders review : the professional journal of the Eating Disorders Association}}, issn = {{1099-0968}}, keywords = {{drive for muscularity, eating disorders, men, psychotherapy, thinness ideal}}, number = {{1}}, pages = {{80--94}}, publisher = {{Wiley}}, title = {{{Investigating the structure of disordered eating symptoms in adult men: A network analysis}}}, doi = {{10.1002/erv.3131}}, volume = {{33}}, year = {{2024}}, } @misc{13581, abstract = {{ObjectiveMany people, including patients with eating disorders (EDs), experience an increased urge for physical activity. "Trait"-like activity in patients with EDs is assessed by existing questionnaires, but there are few clinically validated assessments of a "state" urge to be physically active. Here, we developed and validated the State Urge to be Physically Active-Questionnaire (SUPA-Q). MethodsAfter developing and piloting the items, N = 126 patients with EDs (mostly anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa) took part in our mixed-longitudinal validation study with one primary assessment for all patients and a secondary assessment for a subsample of patients. Cronbach's & alpha; and split-half-methods served as measures of consistency and reliability. Correlations with other questionnaires were used to determine convergent and divergent validity, and confirmatory factor analysis was used for investigating factorial validity. We used paired-samples t-tests for repeated assessments to investigate change sensitivity. ResultsWe found the SUPA-Q to be highly consistent, and reliable and to demonstrate convergent, divergent, and factorial validity. The comparison of SUPA-Q scores from repeated assessments within a subsample of patients demonstrated the questionnaire's change sensitivity, Cohen's d = 0.48. Moreover, an increase in SUPA-Q scores was associated with a less positive mood, more anxiety, more body dissatisfaction, more tenseness, less feelings of control, and more stress. DiscussionThe newly developed SUPA-Q may help to accentuate the necessity to evaluate and address the acute urge to engage in physical activity in patients with EDs in clinical practice and ultimately support tailoring treatments to patients' unique symptom patterns. The questionnaire is available at .}}, author = {{Amin, Lina and Halbeisen, Georg and Braks, Karsten and Huber, Thomas J.J. and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{Brain and Behavior}}, issn = {{2162-3279}}, keywords = {{eating disorders, physical activity, psychopathology, psychotherapy, symptom assessment}}, number = {{10}}, publisher = {{Wiley}}, title = {{{The State Urge to be Physically Active-Questionnaire (SUPA-Q): Development and validation of a state measure of activity urges in patients with eating disorders}}}, doi = {{10.1002/brb3.3220}}, volume = {{13}}, year = {{2023}}, } @misc{13607, abstract = {{Background Previous investigations on the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) factor structures in men have been restricted to non-clinical settings, limiting conclusions about the factorial validity in men with eating disorders (ED). This study aimed to examine the factor structure of the German EDE-Q in a clinical group of adult men with diagnosed ED. Methods ED symptoms were assessed using the validated German version of the EDE-Q. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using principal-axis factoring based on polychoric correlations was conducted for the full sample (N = 188) using Varimax-Rotation with Kaiser-Normalization. Results Horn’s parallel analysis suggested a five-factor solution with an explained variance of 68%. The EFA factors were labeled “Restraint” (items 1, 3–6), “Body Dissatisfaction” (items 25–28), “Weight Concern” (items 10–12, 20), “Preoccupation” (items 7 and 8), and “Importance” (items 22 and 23). Items 2, 9, 19, 21, and 24 were excluded due to low communalities. Conclusions Factors associated with body concerns and body dissatisfaction in adult men with ED are not fully represented in the EDE-Q. This could be due to differences in body ideals in men, e.g., the underestimation of the role of concerns about musculature. Consequently, it may be useful to apply the 17-item five-factor structure of the EDE-Q presented here to adult men with diagnosed ED.}}, author = {{Laskowski, Nora M. and Halbeisen, Georg and Braks, Karsten and Huber, Thomas J.J. and Paslakis, Georgios}}, booktitle = {{Journal of Eating Disorders}}, issn = {{2050-2974}}, keywords = {{Eating disorders, Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire, EDE-Q, Factor analysis, Men’s health, Body dissatisfaction, Muscularity}}, number = {{1}}, publisher = {{BioMed Central}}, title = {{{Factor structure of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) in adult men with eating disorders}}}, doi = {{10.1186/s40337-023-00757-4}}, volume = {{11}}, year = {{2023}}, }