Search activity in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in the acute stage of the illness and following symptomatic stabilization

Background: We examined problem-solving strategies in anorexia nervosa-restricting (AN-R) type and in normal weight binge/purge (B/P) eating disorders (EDs). Method: Twenty-four inpatients with AN-R and 22 with B/P EDs were assessed within two weeks of admission and two weeks from discharge for problem-solving, ineffectiveness, ED symptomatology, depression and anxiety; 32 controls were similarly assessed once. Results: While we found less adaptive problem-solving strategies in patients with B/P EDs vs. controls at baseline, no such difference emerged for patients with AN-R. An improvement from admission to discharge in problem solving, depression and trait-anxiety was found for the B/P but not the AN-R group. Conclusions: Patients with AN-R and B/P EDs show different profiles of problem-solving strategies both in the acute stage of their illness and following symptomatic stabilization.