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PITFALLS IN ANOREXIA NERVOSA RESEARCH: THE RISK OF ARTIFACTS LINKED TO DENIAL OF ILLNESS AND METHODS OF PREVENTING THEM

Malgorzata Starzomska ; Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszy
Ryszard Tadeusiewicz ; AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland

Sažetak

One of the most serious problems faced by researchers studying eating disorders is denial of illness in individuals with anorexia
nervosa. Importantly, the term “denial” not only has different meanings, but in the case of anorexia nervosa its very nature still
remains obscure. It is not even known whether it is deliberate or unintentional. Denial of illness in anorexic patients has serious
consequences for evaluation of the reliability of information obtained from those individuals. Indeed, the most frequently used
screening questionnaires, such as the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT) (Garner & Garfinkel 1979) and the Eating Disorder Inventory
(EDI) (Garner et al. 1983), may not reflect the psychological state of the subjects due to distorted responses. The objective of this
review article is to elucidate, at least in part, the nature of denial of illness in anorexic individuals and, importantly, to present
methods for direct or indirect measurement of this variable. The authors emphasize the detrimental effect of denial of illness on the
quality of information obtained from the patients and the notorious unreliability of self-report data. The final part of the paper
contains suggestions as to methods of bypassing the pitfalls associated with the influence of denial of illness on the results of studies
involving anorexic individuals; for instance, it is recommended that one should build an honest and trustful relationship with the
patient. Last but not least, the focus is placed on the potential of experimental psychology, which offers tools producing robust data,
resistant to deliberate distortion by patients.

Ključne riječi

anorexia nervosa; methodological pitfalls; denial of illness; self-report measures

Hrčak ID:

175494

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/175494

Datum izdavanja:

15.9.2016.

Posjeta: 1.652 *