Self-Efficacy as Predictor of Treatment Outcome in Eating Disorders

This study is about eating disorders (EDs), which are serious mental health conditions that negatively impact eating habits, health, and overall quality of life. The goal of this research is to understand if a person's self-efficacy, or belief in their ability to successfully manage their disorder, at the beginning of treatment can predict how well they will respond to therapy. This is important because while there are several proven treatments for EDs, their success rates are not as high as hoped. By identifying factors that might improve treatment outcomes, care for individuals with EDs could be enhanced. The study focuses on patients undergoing CBT-T, a brief form of cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders like bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other specified feeding or eating disorder. During the study, participants will complete a questionnaire called the ED-15 at various stages of their treatment. This questionnaire measures changes in eating disorder pathology, or the severity of ED symptoms. The study also examines if self-efficacy, self-esteem, and autonomous motivation are linked. These concepts will be measured at the start of treatment to see if they are positively correlated. The primary hypothesis is that higher levels of self-efficacy will lead to a more positive treatment outcome, as measured by lower levels of eating disorder pathology. The secondary hypotheses are that self-efficacy will improve during treatment, and that autonomous motivation, self-esteem, and self-efficacy will be positively correlated.