Social anxiety and agoraphobia in the eating disorders: associations with eating attitudes and behaviours.

Background: While eating disorders have a high comorbidity with anxiety disorders, little is presently known about how anxiety links to eating attitudes and behaviours and other related characteristics of eating-disordered individuals. The present study aimed to determine whether social anxiety and agoraphobia in eating-disordered individuals are linked to different eating attitudes and behaviours and levels of ego functioning.

Method: The participants were 70 women who met DSM-IV criteria for an eating disorder. The Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) was used as a measure of eating attitudes and ego-functioning characteristics, while the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) was used as a measure of levels of social anxiety and agoraphobia.

Results: High scores on the eating attitude scales of the EDI were associated with higher levels of social anxiety in eating-disordered individuals. High scores on the ego-dysfunction scales of the EDI were associated with higher levels of social anxiety and agoraphobia.

Conclusions: The present findings suggest that eating-related attitudes and behaviours are associated with high levels of social anxiety, while psychological characteristics not specifically related to eating are associated with anxiety more broadly. The results highlight the importance of identifying and addressing comorbid anxiety in eating-disordered individuals, and suggestions are made for the treatment of such cases. Implications for future research are also discussed.