Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 May;44(4):356-68.
doi: 10.1002/eat.20800.

An eating disorder randomized clinical trial and attrition: profiles and determinants of dropout

Karen Farchaus Stein  1 , Jeffrey Wing, Adam Lewis, Trivellore Raghunathan
Affiliations

An eating disorder randomized clinical trial and attrition: profiles and determinants of dropout

Karen Farchaus Stein et al. Int J Eat Disord. 2011 May.

Abstract

Objective: This study sought to determine whether differential treatment effects in the targeted mechanisms of change and eating disorder (ED) symptoms are associated with patterns of attrition from a RCT.

Method: The main study was a RCT of a psychotherapy designed to alter the non-weight related self-cognitions as the means to promote recovery and health in a sample of 69 women with AN or BN. Four groups based on point of dropout were compared on demographic, self-cognitions and ED symptoms using logit and piecewise mixed effects modeling.

Results: Attrition was highest during treatment phase but no significant predictors were found. During the measurement phase, the direction and amount of change in self-cognition interrelatedness and body dissatisfaction differed according to point of dropout and treatment group.

Discussion: Attention to changes both in symptoms and mediating factors that occur during treatment and follow-up may help to identify those who are at risk for dropout and to develop strategies to promote RCT participant retention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant Flow Chart aIIP=Identity Intervention Program bSPI=Supportive Psychotherapy Intervention Program cInvestigator removed
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Predicted number of positive schemas by time of dropout in months for the IIP and (b) SPI treatment groups, respectively; interrelatedness (c, d); and body dissatisfaction score (e, f).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Birmingham C, Su J, Hlynsky J, Goldner E, Gao M. The mortality rate of anorexia nervosa. Int J Eat Disord. 2005;38(2):143–6. - PubMed
    1. Keel P, Dorer D, Eddy K, Franko D, Charatan D, Herzog D. Predictors of mortality in eating disorders. Arch Gen Psychology. 2003;60(2):179–83. - PubMed
    1. Bowers WA, Andersen AE. Cognitive-behavior therapy with eating disorders: The role of medications in treatment. J Cognitive Psycho. 2007;21(1):16–27.
    1. Wilson GT, Grilo CM, Vitousek KM. Psychological treatment of eating disorders. Am Psychol. 2007;62(3):199–216. - PubMed
    1. Shadish WR, Cook TD, Campbell D. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton-Mifflin; New York: 2002.