Differences and similarities in the personality structure of 327 women with eating disorders

The symptomatology of Eating Disorders (ED) varies considerably and it is of interest to determine whether one can attribute this to different personality structures and hence establish the most effective treatment. The present study investigates the psychopathological characteristics of clinical ED subjects divided by diagnostic subtypes, age at onset and duration of disorder on admission. Three hundred and twenty-seven women were administered the EAT 40 and MMPI. One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc multiple comparisons were performed on subsamples: no significant differences emerged with regard to age at onset and duration of ED, whereas the diagnostic subtypes obtained significantly different MMPI validity scale scores. These results can be referred to a common core of ED represented by cognitive organization and personal meaning.