Changes in coping styles and recovery after inpatient treatment for severeeating disorders

Fifty-six patients with anorexia nervosa (19 restrictive type, 37 purging/b ulimic type) and 32 patients with bulimia nervosa, purging type, filled in questionnaires at admission to an eating disorder unit, again at discharge and 6 months later. Among these questionnaires was the LICL, the Utrecht Co ping List, a Dutch questionnaire on coping styles. To determine the associa tion between changes in coping styles and changes in eating symptomatology and psychological functioning during treatment, correlations were calculate d. Multiple regression analysis was used to assess the portion of the varia nce of the measurements at follow-up that could be predicted by the coping styles at the end of treatment. Patients reported significant changes in co ping styles in a favourable direction during treatment. Compared with norma l controls, their coping styles at the end of the treatment were still more avoiding, more passive and more palliative reacting. They also made more u se of reassuring thoughts, and less of active tackling and seeking of socia l support. The status of the patients 6 months after discharge was very wel l predicted by their status at discharge. After multiple regression analysi s we found for both anorectic and bulimic patients that if they, at the end of the treatment made more use of the coping style reassuring thoughts, th is would contribute to the prediction of a better status at follow-up. Buli mic patients that at the end of the treatment made less use of the coping s tyle palliative reacting, had a better status at follow-up. Copyright (C) 2 001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.