A Test of the Continuity Perspective Across Bulimic and Binge Eating Pathology

Objective: This article examines the continuity/discontinuity perspective of eating pathology among 375 women seeking treatment.

Methods: Participants were categorized into five separate groups: obese nonbingers, subthreshold binge eating disorder (BED), BED, subthreshold bulimics, and bulimics. We tested whether differences in core eating pathology (drive for thinness, body dissatisfaction, current body image, body image ideal) and psychiatric symptoms (depression, interoceptive awareness) differentiated the groups quantitatively (supporting the continuity perspective) or qualitatively (supporting the discontinuity perspective).

Results: Our results, overall, supported the continuity perspective of eating pathology. A discriminant function analysis using the eating pathology and psychiatric symptom variables as predictor variables found that one primary factor differentiated the five groups on both core eating pathology and psychiatric variables.

Discussion: The implications of testing this model within a treatment-seeking sample are discussed.