Identity statuses in prebariatric patients with obesity: Associations with eating disorder symptoms, psychological complaints, and coping behaviour?

OBJECTIVE

In the present study, we focused on the associations between identity processes/statuses and eating and general psychopathology and coping in prebariatric patients suffering from morbid obesity.

METHOD: Our sample consisted of 369 prebariatric patients (68.8% female) who filled out self-report questionnaires to assess identity processes, eating and general psychopathology, and coping.

RESULTS

Concerning identity processes, ruminative exploration was positively related to eating-related and general psychopathology and maladaptive coping, whereas commitment processes were protective against psychopathology and maladaptive coping. Based on cluster analyses, we identified five identity statuses, being achievement, foreclosure, moratorium, diffusion, and an undifferentiated status, showing some heterogeneity within the prebariatric patient group. Patients in the diffused and moratorium statuses reported more eating and general psychopathology and more maladaptive coping compared with prebariatric patients of the other statuses.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the clinical vulnerability to psychopathology of patients in the moratorium and diffused statuses, it would be advisable to increase the psychological help in their prebariatric and postbariatric trajectories.