Thought–shape fusion and body image in eating disorders

Figures & data

Table 1 Descriptive statistics (mean ± standard deviation)

	AN	BN	EDNOS
Thought-Shape Fusion Questionnaire (TSF-Q)
TSF-conceptual	17.91 ± 16.50	23.75 ± 20.54	25.23 ± 17.62
TSF-interpretative	17.29 ± 17.22	30.13 ± 21.64	32.62 ± 20.34
TSF-total	38.26 ± 36.14	54.33 ± 40.04	57.85 ± 34.96
Body Image Quality of Life Inventory (BIQLI)	−0.39 ± 1.23	−1.12 ± 1.25	−0.72 ± 1.14
Body Appreciation Scale (BAS)	40.90 ± 8.75	36.58 ± 11.87	35.69 ± 8.48
Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ)	89.42 ± 36.84	121.33 ± 48.12	108.07 ± 40.55
Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2)
Drive for thinness (DT)	6.79 ± 6.66	11.75 ± 7.55	12.36 ± 5.75
Body dissatisfaction (BD)	8.77 ± 6.77	12.00 ± 9.73	18.07 ± 5.96
Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R)
Somatizations	0.85 ± 0.71	1.20 ± 1.07	0.89 ± 0.93
Obsessive-compulsive	1.17 ± 0.74	1.50 ± 1.16	1.12 ± 0.73
Interpersonal sensitivity	1.30 ± 0.94	1.68 ± 1.26	1.44 ± 1.03
Depression	1.35 ± 0.95	1.65 ± 1.14	1.45 ± 0.95
Anxiety	1.07 ± 0.93	1.26 ± 1.10	0.98 ± 0.72
Hostility	1.09 ± 0.96	1.16 ± 1.02	0.91 ± 0.95
Phobic anxiety	0.40 ± 0.44	0.76 ± 0.81	0.50 ± 0.87
Paranoid ideation	0.94 ± 0.75	0.91 ± 0.88	0.88 ± 0.55
Psychoticism	0.94 ± 0.85	1.10 ± 0.87	0.80 ± 0.70
Global Severity Index	1.05 ± 0.71	1.29 ± 0–93	1.13 ± 0.69
Positive Symptom Total	45.82 ± 20.12	51.37 ± 25.22	44.53 ± 22.79
Positive Symptom Distress Index	1.87 ± 0.64	1.89 ± 0.97	1.91 ± 0.48
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)
Trait anxiety (STAI-T)	30.03 ± 10.51	35.06 ± 10.56	31.67 ± 9.86
State anxiety (STAI-S)	28.54 ± 15.07	26.69 ± 15.94	26.67 ± 13.06

Abbreviations: AN, anorexia nervosa; BN, bulimia nervosa; EDNOS, eating disorders not otherwise specified.

Figure 1 Correlations between thought–shape fusion (conceptual, interpretative, and total) and body image-related variables.

Abbreviations: BAS, Body Appreciation Scale; BIQLI, Body Image Quality of Life Inventory; BSQ, Body Shape Questionnaire; EDI-BD, Eating Disorder Inventory – Body Dissatisfaction; EDI-DT, Eating Disorder Inventory – Drive for Thinness; TSFC, thought–shape fusion-conceptual; TSFI, thought–shape fusion-interpretative; TSFT, thought–shape fusion-total.

Table 2 Correlations (Spearman’s rho coefficient) between thought–shape fusion and body image-related variables

	BIQLI	BAS	BSQ	EDI-DT	EDI-BD
TSF-conceptual	−0.18	−0.35**	0.60**	0.61**	0.54**
TSF-interpretative	−0.28*	−0.53**	0.67**	0.64**	0.65**
TSF-total	−0.11	−0.47**	0.67**	0.59**	0.60**

Notes:

* P < 0.05;

** P < 0.01.

Abbreviations: BAS, Body Appreciation Scale; BIQLI, Body Image Quality of Life Inventory; BSQ, Body Shape Questionnaire; EDI-BD, Eating Disorder Inventory – Body Dissatisfaction; EDI-DT, Eating Disorder Inventory – Drive for Thinness; TSF, Thought–shape fusion.

Table 3 High versus low Thought–Shape Fusion (TSF) total (mean ± standard deviation)

	High TSF	Low TSF	P
Body appreciation (BAS)	30.80 ± 6.37	41.27 ± 9.68	<0.0001
Body shape (BSQ)	148.93 ± 36.06	86.65 ± 34.02	<0.0001
Body image quality of life (BIQLI)	−0.64 ± 1.40	−0.57 ± 1.11	0.664
Eating Disorders Inventory-2
Drive for thinness (EDI-DT)	15.21 ± 5.59	7.19 ± 6.55	<0.0001
Body dissatisfaction (EDI-BD)	18.68 ± 6.82	8.61 ± 6.70	<0.0001
Symptoms Checklist (SCL-90-R)
Somatizations	1.56 ± 1.11	0.75 ± 0.64	<0.01
Obsessive-compulsive	2.02 ± 0.93	0.99 ± 0.69	<0.0001
Interpersonal sensitivity	2.29 ± 0.90	1.11 ± 0.90	<0.0001
Depression	2.28 ± 0.91	1.24 ± 0.86	<0.0001
Anxiety	1.83 ± 1.13	0.83 ± 0.69	<0.0001
Hostility	1.60 ± 1.15	1.00 ± 0.88	<0.05
Phobic anxiety	0.95 ± 0.77	0.33 ± 0.51	<0.01
Paranoid ideation	1.66 ± 0.88	0.73 ± 0.55	<0.0001
Psychoticism	1.51 ± 0.77	0.75 ± 0.70	<0.0001
Global Severity Index (GSI)	1.79 ± 0.92	0.80 ± 0.59	<0.0001
Positive Symptom Total (PST)	65.26 ± 19.11	41.29 ± 18.83	<0.0001
Positive Symptom Distress Index (PSDI)	2.34 ± 0.64	1.78 ± 0.59	<0.01
State-Trait Anxiety Scale (STAI)
Trait anxiety (STAI-T)	40.11 ± 7.32	28.63 ± 9.97	<0.0001
State anxiety (STAI-S)	37.42 ± 12.67	25.22 ± 13.79	<0.01