| Abstract: The principal aim of this study is to verify the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral and pharmacological treatment in a sample of eating disorder patients, evaluating the recovery process during the various steps of the psychological treatment.
15 female was consecutively recruited in an outpatient Centre for Eating Disorders. The sample was divided in two groups following the DSM-IV TR criteria: Anorexia (AN) and Bulimia (BN).
Symptom Questionnaire (SQ), evaluating the subjective sufferance experienced in the past week, MMPI-2, and 16PF-A, for the evaluation of personality traits, were administered. Furthermore, a psychophysiological registration (PPF) of four parameters (SCL/SCR, HR, Thermal, EMG) during three different phases (baseline-stress-recovery) was executed. PPF and SQ were repeated six months later the start of the treatment and at its ending, once reached the expected weight and the compensatory behavior was disappeared.
High levels of anxiety, depression, somatic compliant and hostility, and a low general reactivity during the stress phase of the physiological registration was observed.
A significant reduction of the referred depressive symptoms was found just after six months. In the contrary SCR parameter increased significantly only a little after six months and more at the end of the treatment indicating a clear lack of synchronization in these important variables which have to be take in to account. |