Self‐liking and self‐competence: relationship to symptoms of anorexia nervosa |
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| Authors: | Lois J Surgenor Sarah Maguire Janice Russell Stephen Touyz |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychological Medicine, Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand;2. School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;3. The Peter Beumont Centre for Eating Disorders, Sydney, Australia;4. Northside Clinic, Sydney, Australia;5. Department Psychological Medicine, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Self‐esteem has been hypothesised to play a pivotal role in the development and treatment, and outcome of anorexia nervosa (AN). Though this relationship is typically investigated by considering self‐esteem as a unitary construct, research suggests that this comprises of two related but distinct components of self‐liking and self‐competence. This study investigates the association between self‐liking, self‐competence, and symptomatology of AN through the course of a defined treatment episode in 77 women. Self‐liking was significantly associated with laxative abuse. Self‐competence was significantly associated with elevated ineffectiveness, perfectionism and interpersonal distrust. Although self‐competence and eating disturbance severity significantly improved over the treatment episode, one in three participants reported a reduced self‐like or self‐competence. Changes in both self‐competence and self‐liking at the end of treatment was associated with changes in drive for thinness. Such findings have implications for treatment models concerned with improving self‐esteem. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association. |
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| Keywords: | self‐esteem self‐liking self‐competence anorexia nervosa |
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