Department of Psychology, Panteion University, Athens, Greece.
Eat Weight Disord. 2011 Jun;16(2):e86-92. doi: 10.3275/7361. Epub 2010 Nov 23.
The aim of the present study was to experimentally investigate a cognitive distortion, 'Thought Shape Fusion' (TSF), in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN). TSF has been postulated as a specific distortion in patients with eating disorders and occurs when the thought about eating a forbidden food increases a person's estimate of her weight / shape, elicits a perception of moral wrongdoing and makes her feel fat. Previous psychometric measures of TSF in clinical and control groups, experiments eliciting TSF in a student sample and in patients with anorexia nervosa, all confirm a strong association between TSF and eating disorder psychopathology. Twenty patients diagnosed with BN participated in a within-participants experimental design with the aim of eliciting TSF and investigating further the possible effects of corrective behaviours (checking and mental neutralizing). Verbal analogue scales constituted the main outcome measures. TSF triggered a perception of moral wrongdoing, heightened levels of body dissatisfaction, elevated feelings of anxiety and guilt and prompted urges to engage in checking and mental neutralizing. Corrective behaviours significantly reduced the effects of the experimental procedure. Components of TSF are present in BN and are likely to play a mediating role in the maintenance of the disorder. The precise connection between TSF and BN remains to be explored in future clinical trials.
本研究旨在通过实验调查神经性贪食症（BN）患者的一种认知扭曲，即“思维形状融合”（TSF）。TSF 被认为是饮食障碍患者特有的一种扭曲，当一个人想到吃禁食时，会增加她对体重/体型的估计，引起道德错误的感知，并使她感到肥胖。之前在临床和对照组中对 TSF 的心理测量学测量、在学生样本和神经性厌食症患者中诱发 TSF 的实验，都证实了 TSF 与饮食障碍病理之间存在强烈的关联。20 名被诊断为 BN 的患者参与了一项参与者内实验设计，旨在诱发 TSF 并进一步研究可能的矫正行为（检查和心理中和）的影响。言语模拟量表构成了主要的结果测量指标。TSF 引发了道德错误的感知、更高水平的身体不满、更高的焦虑和内疚感，并促使患者进行检查和心理中和。矫正行为显著减轻了实验程序的影响。TSF 的组成部分存在于 BN 中，可能在疾病的维持中发挥中介作用。未来的临床试验需要进一步探索 TSF 与 BN 之间的确切联系。
