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
. 2024 Feb;54(1):129-137.
doi: 10.1111/sltb.13024. Epub 2023 Nov 27.

Elevated interoceptive deficits in individuals with eating disorders and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A replication and extension

Elizabeth A Velkoff  1   2 , Natalie M Perkins  3 , Dorian R Dodd  4 , Tiffany A Brown  5 , Walter H Kaye  2 , Christina E Wierenga  2
Affiliations

Elevated interoceptive deficits in individuals with eating disorders and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors: A replication and extension

Elizabeth A Velkoff et al. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Introduction: People with eating disorders (EDs) frequently report self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs). We aimed to replicate and extend findings demonstrating greater interoceptive deficits according to SITB severity. We predicted that interoceptive deficits would be greater among people with versus without lifetime SITBs and among those with multiple suicide attempts compared with single attempts or nonsuicidal self-injury. We also predicted that interoception would be increasingly impaired with greater current suicidality severity.

Method: Adults (N = 118) seeking ED treatment reported current and lifetime SITBs upon admission to treatment. We used planned contrasts to compare interoceptive deficits (self-reported using the Eating Disorders Inventory) by SITB and current suicidality groups (assessed by self-report and clinical interview).

Results: Interoceptive deficits were greater among people with any SITB history compared to those without. People with multiple suicide attempts did not differ in interoceptive deficits from those with single attempts or only nonsuicidal self-injury. Interoceptive deficits were elevated among those with any current suicidality compared to those with no suicidal symptoms; interoceptive deficits did not differ according to severity of suicidality.

Conclusion: Among those with EDs, interoceptive deficits are elevated among those with concurrent SITBs. Interventions aimed at improving interoception may reduce the risk for SITBs.

Keywords: eating disorders; interoceptive deficits; nonsuicidal self-injury; replication; suicidality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

REFERENCES

    1. Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D., & Taylor, G. J. (1994). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale-I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38(1), 23-32.
    1. Ballard, E. D., Gilbert, J. R., Wusinich, C., & Zarate, C. A., Jr. (2021). New methods for assessing rapid changes in suicide risk. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 598434.
    1. Boswell, J. F., Anderson, L. M., & Anderson, D. A. (2015). Integration of interoceptive exposure in eating disorder treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 22(2), 194-210.
    1. Boswell, J. F., Anderson, L. M., Oswald, J. M., Reilly, E. E., Gorrell, S., & Anderson, D. A. (2019). A preliminary naturalistic clinical case series study of the feasibility and impact of interoceptive exposure for eating disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 117, 54-64.
    1. Brausch, A. M., & Muehlenkamp, J. J. (2014). Experience of the body. In L. Claes & J. J. Muehlenkamp (Eds.), Non-suicidal self-injury in eating disorders: Advancements in etiology and treatment. Springer-Verlag.

LinkOut - more resources