Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of eating disorders and relationship to drug use for female patients in treatment for chemical addiction and to determine if there is a sufficient number of female patients with co-morbid eating disorder in order to justify the development of a protocol for identification and management of patients with eating disorders at the chemical addiction treatment center and to identify any relationships between drug of choice and eating disorder co-morbidity in order to assist in treatment planning. Female patients were screened for eating disorder symptoms with the 26-item Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26). Self-report data were collected for age, height, weight, program, and primary drug use. Statistical analyses were conducted comparing these variables to the main measure, EAT-26 score. Prevalence rates of 14.8% were found for the sample, with no differences noted by type of program (adolescent or adult residential rehabilitation, residential extended care, and outpatient treatment program) or by age. Cocaine was positively associated with higher EAT-26 scores than the other drugs (alcohol, opioids, and marijuana). In conclusion, correct diagnosis and treatment of an eating disorder are important to decrease relapse to drug use for weight control and appearance. Implementation of diagnosis and treatment strategy for eating disorders at the Caron Foundation, an addiction treatment center, is described