Predicting dropout from intensive outpatient cognitive behavioural therapy for binge eating disorder using pre-treatment characteristics: A naturalistic study

Background: Dropout rates in binge eating disorder (BED) treatment are high (17-30%), and predictors of dropout are unknown. Method: Participants were 376 patients following an intensive outpatient cognitive behavioural therapy programme for BED, 82 of whom (21.8%) dropped out of treatment. An exploratory logistic regression was performed using eating disorder variables, general psychopathology, personality and demographics to identify predictors of dropout. Results: Binge eating pathology, preoccupations with eating, shape and weight, social adjustment, agreeableness, and social embedding appeared to be significant predictors of dropout. Also, education showed an association to dropout. Discussion: This is one of the first studies investigating pre-treatment predictors for dropout in BED treatment. The total explained variance of the prediction model was low, yet the model correctly classified 80.6% of cases, which is comparable to other dropout studies in eating disorders.