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A Systematic and Methodological Review of Attentional Biases in Eating Disorders: Food, Body, and Perfectionism

Ralph-Nearman, Christina; Achee, Margaret; Lapidus, Rachel; Stewart, Jennifer L.; Filik, Ruth

A Systematic and Methodological Review of Attentional Biases in Eating Disorders: Food, Body, and Perfectionism Thumbnail


Authors

Christina Ralph-Nearman

Margaret Achee

Rachel Lapidus

Jennifer L. Stewart

RUTH FILIK ruth.filik@nottingham.ac.uk
Associate Professor



Abstract

Objective: The current systematic and methodological review aimed to critically review existing literature utilizing implicit processing, or automatic approach- and/or avoidance-related attentional biases between eating disorder (ED) and nonclinical samples, which: (1) highlights how psychophysiological methods advance knowledge of ED implicit bias; (2) explains how findings fit into transdiagnostic versus disorder-specific ED frameworks; and (3) suggests how research can address perfectionism-related ED biases.

Method: Three databases were systematically searched to identify studies: Pubmed, Scopus, and PsychInfo electronic databases. Peer-reviewed studies of 18-39-year-olds with both clinical ED and heathy samples assessing visual attentional biases using pictorial and/or linguistic stimuli related to food, body, and/or perfectionism were included.

Results: Forty-six studies were included. While behavioral results were often similar across ED diagnoses, studies incorporating psychophysiological measures often revealed disease-specific attentional biases. Specifically, women with bulimia nervosa (BN) tend to approach food and other body types, whereas women with anorexia nervosa (AN) tend to avoid food as well as overweight bodies.

Conclusions: Further integration of psychophysiological and behavioral methods may identify subtle processing variations in ED, which may guide prevention strategies and interventions, and provide important clinical implications. Few implicit bias studies include male participants, investigate binge eating disorder, or evaluate perfectionism-relevant stimuli, despite the fact that perfectionism is implicated in models of ED.

Citation

Ralph-Nearman, C., Achee, M., Lapidus, R., Stewart, J. L., & Filik, R. (2019). A Systematic and Methodological Review of Attentional Biases in Eating Disorders: Food, Body, and Perfectionism. Brain and Behavior, 9(12), Article e01458. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1458

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Oct 5, 2019
Online Publication Date Nov 7, 2019
Publication Date 2019-12
Deposit Date Oct 15, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Brain and Behavior
Print ISSN 2162-3279
Electronic ISSN 2157-9032
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 12
Article Number e01458
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.1458
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2837398
Publisher URL https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/brb3.1458
Additional Information Received: 2019-09-28; Accepted: 2019-10-05; Published: 2019-11-07

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