Biomedical subjects

Laurence Claes

Publications and source records attributed to Laurence Claes.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Impulsiveness and lack of inhibitory control in eating disorders.

UNLABELLED: Eating disorders are considered to lie on a spectrum of disorders with varying degrees of obsessive-compulsive and impulsive traits. Restrictive anorexia nervosa patients (AN-R) are thought to belong to the obsessive pole of the spectrum, and purging-anorexia (AN-P) and bulimia nervosa (BN) patients to the impulsive pole. In this study we have compared impulsive traits in three groups of eating disordered patients (total N=56) and a control group of 83 female students. Information about impulsive traits and lack of inhibitory control was gathered by means of standardized rating scales (Eysenck's Impulsiveness Scale, Barrett's Impulsiveness Scale, and Carver and White's BIS/BAS scale) and a behavioral measure of impulsiveness (stop-go task). On the questionnaires AN-R patients reported to be less impulsive than controls, AN-P and BN patients. In the stop-go task, we did not find significant differences between the different groups. Correlations between self-reported measures of impulsiveness and behavioral measures were not significant. IN CONCLUSION: Our results from the self-report measures are at odds with the behavioral measures certainly in the AN-R group. Perhaps the latter patients' distorted self-perception and/or self-description may explain this discrepancy.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Personality prototypes in eating disorders based on the Big Five model.

A three factor model of personality pathology was investigated in a clinical sample of 335 female eating disordered patients. Cluster analysis of the Big Five NEO-FFI scales (Costa & McCrae, 1992) yielded three distinct personality profiles, which were consistent with previous studies: (1) a resilient/high functioning cluster with no clinical elevations on the NEO-FFI scales; (2) an undercontrolled/emotionally dysregulated cluster with elevated scores on the Neuroticism scale and low scores on Conscientiousness and Agreeableness; (3) an overcontrolled/constricted cluster showing high scores on Neuroticism and Conscientiousness and low scores on Openness to Experience. Comparing the three personality prototypes with respect to Axis I and Axis II disorders,resilients reported systematically less clinical and personality problems than both undercontrollers and overcontrollers. Compared to the latter, undercontrollers showed more impulsive personality features and behaviors. Finally, cluster membership was not clearly associated with eating disorder subtypes, suggesting that there is considerable variance in personality features and/or pathology within the various eating disorder categories.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Pain experience related to self-injury in eating disorder patients.

A reduced pain sensitivity has been found in eating disorder (ED) patients. These patients often show various types of self-injurious behaviors (SIB) which some experience as painful, while others report analgesia during episodes of SIB. How can we explain these differences? We studied female ED patients (N=185) of whom 84 had admitted some form of SIB in their recent history. The presence/absence of pain report during SIB was not significantly related to the type of ED. The longer the history of SIB, the less pain was reported. Ratings of dissociation and traumatic experiences were higher in patients who did not experience pain while injuring themselves. We discuss several biopsychosocial explanations for these findings with suggestions for future research.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Family environment of eating disordered patients with and without self-injurious behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: The family environment is known to be an important contributor to the course of psychiatric disorders. In this study, we examined the family context of eating disordered (ED) patients with and without self-injurious behaviors (SIB). METHOD: A Dutch adaptation of the Family Environment Scale "Sci Eng 57(9-B):1997;5927" was completed by 131 ED patients of whom 47% showed at least one form of SIB (e.g., cutting, burning, hair pulling, etc.). RESULTS: Results showed a significant difference in family environment between patients with and without SIB. The family environment of self-injuring ED patients was less cohesive, expressive and socially oriented, and more conflictual and disorganized than the family environment of those without SIB. No significant differences in perceived family environment were found with respect to the number or form of SIB and the subtype of ED. Neither did we find a significant interaction effect between ED subtype and presence/absence of SIB.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Hyperactivity in anorexia nervosa: a case study using experience sampling methodology.

Hyperactivity is frequently observed in eating disorders, and several biopsychological mechanisms have been proposed to explain its pathogenetic role. In view of the lack of a reliable method to study hyperactive behavior, we did an experiment with experience sampling methodology (ESM). During 1 week, an anorexia nervosa (AN) patient was asked at nine random times a day to report her momentary tendency to be physically active, her emotions and several other variables including calorie expenditure, drive for thinness, attractiveness, obsessions, compulsions, and attitudes towards hyperactivity. Results indicate that the patient's tendency to be hyperactive was (a) positively related to her weight preoccupation and her negative emotions, and (b) negatively related to her positive emotions and the absence of depression. In this patient, obsessions and compulsions were not related to hyperactivity. The usefulness of ESM for studying the role of hyperactivity in AN is discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Personality traits in eating-disordered patients with and without self-injurious behaviors.

Although there is a high comorbidity of eating disorder and self-injurious behavior (SIB), no systematic research has focused on personality trait differences in patients with and without SIB. In this study, a Dutch adaptation of the NEO-FFI (Costa & McCrae, 1985, 1992) was completed by 178 female, eating-disordered (ED) patients of whom 46.5% showed at least 1 form of SIB (e.g., cutting, burning, hair pulling). A subsample of 41 patients also completed the NEO-PI-R. Compared to patients without SIB, ED patients with SIB scored significantly higher on the Neuroticism scale and significantly lower on the Extraversion scale; on subtraits (facet scores) they appeared to be more anxious, more willing to please and less cheerful, efficient and ambitious. Personality traits were not associated with frequency or form of SIB or subtype of ED (except for impulsiveness). We also did not find a significant interaction effect between ED subtype and presence/absence of SIB.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Therapy-related assessment of self-harming behaviors in eating disordered patients: a case illustration.

Understanding an individual's self-harming behaviors should be the basis for selecting person-specific therapeutic interventions. For that purpose, the assessment is aimed at identifying the self-harming behaviors and related symptoms as well as analyzing the external (situational) and internal (cognitive and emotional) conditions that contribute directly to the instigation of the self-harming behaviors. In this article, we demonstrate the use of a new assessment procedure that may guide the selection of therapeutic interventions. Data collection and processing are illustrated by an individual case study of an eating-disordered patient showing different types of self-harming behavior such as vomiting, alcohol abuse, cutting, and suicide attempts.

Journal Article↗