Rapid improvements in emotion regulation predict eating disorder psychopathology and functional impairment at 6-month follow-up in individuals with bulimia nervosa and purging disorder.

OBJECTIVE: We previously demonstrated that early improvements in access to emotion regulation strategies during the first 4 weeks of intensive cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)-based eating disorder (ED) treatment predicted a range of post-treatment outcomes. This follow-up article examines whether early improvements in access to emotion regulation strategies continue to predict good treatment outcomes at 6 months post-treatment.

METHOD: Participants were 76 patients with bulimia nervosa or purging disorder who participated in the original study and the 6-month follow-up assessment. Hierarchical regression models were used to examine whether early improvements in emotion regulation strategies predicted 6-month follow-up outcomes.

RESULTS: After controlling relevant covariates and rapid and substantial behavior change, greater early improvements in access to emotion regulation strategies during the first 4 weeks of intensive treatment predicted lower overall ED psychopathology and ED-related functional impairment 6 months after treatment. They did not predict abstinence from binge, vomit, and laxative use behaviors during the follow-up period.

DISCUSSION: Individuals who learn early in treatment that they can use skills to more effectively regulate emotions have better treatment outcomes on some variables 6 months after treatment. Teaching emotion regulation skills in the first phase of CBT for ED may be beneficial, particularly for individuals with baseline difficulties.