Elizabeth Rieger | The Australian National University (original) (raw)

Papers by Elizabeth Rieger

Journal of Eating Disorders, 2022

Background Eating disorders (EDs) are highly complex mental illnesses associated with significant... more Background Eating disorders (EDs) are highly complex mental illnesses associated with significant medical complications. There are currently knowledge gaps in research relating to the epidemiology, aetiology, treatment, burden, and outcomes of eating disorders. To clearly identify and begin addressing the major deficits in the scientific, medical, and clinical understanding of these mental illnesses, the Australian Government Department of Health in 2019 funded the InsideOut Institute (IOI) to develop the Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Strategy, the primary aim of which was to identify priorities and targets for building research capacity and outputs. A series of rapid reviews (RR) were conducted to map the current state of knowledge, identify evidence gaps, and inform development of the national research strategy. Published peer-reviewed literature on DSM-5 listed EDs, across eight knowledge domains was reviewed: (1) population, prevalence, disease burden, Qual...

Frontiers in Psychology, 2019

Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2018

Internalization of sociocultural attitudes regarding the so-called virtues of thinness and vices ... more Internalization of sociocultural attitudes regarding the so-called virtues of thinness and vices of fatness can lead to two motivational orientations: drive for thinness and fear of fat. The current study assessed drive for thinness and fear of fat, via approach and avoidance motivation towards thin-ideal and non-thin bodies respectively, and also the relation between these approach-avoidance tendencies and key eating disorder-related constructs. Participants were 95 female undergraduate students. Results revealed an approach bias for thin-ideal bodies and an avoidance bias for non-thin bodies. Furthermore, a greater approach bias towards thin-ideal bodies was associated with greater body dissatisfaction, thin-ideal internalization, and dietary restraint whilst controlling for body mass index. An avoidance bias away from non-thin bodies did not significantly correlate with any eating disorderrelated constructs. These findings imply that drive for thinness may be more relevant than fear of fat as a risk factor for eating disorder symptoms in women.

Family Practice, 2018

Background Relational aspects of primary care are important, but we have no standard measure for ... more Background Relational aspects of primary care are important, but we have no standard measure for assessment. The ‘working alliance’ incorporates elements of the therapeutic relationship, shared decision-making, goal setting and communication skills. The Working Alliance Inventory (short form) (WAI-SF) has been used in adult psychology, and a high score on the survey is associated with improved outcomes for clients. Objective To adapt the WAI-SF for use between GPs and patients and to test its concurrent validity with measures of shared decision-making and the doctor–patient relationship and discriminant validity with measures of social desirability. Methods Two rounds of online survey feedback from 55 GPs and 47 patients were used to adapt the WAI-SF—the WAI-GP. The tool was then completed by 142 patients in waiting rooms after seeing their GP and by 16 GPs at the end of their session. Concurrent validity with measures of shared decision-making and patient–doctor depth of relationsh...

European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 2014

Interoception has been proposed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of eating disorders... more Interoception has been proposed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study was to examine a heart beat detection task (HBDT) as an objective index of interoceptive sensitivity in individuals with an ED. The self-report interoceptive deficits subscale of the Eating Disorders Inventory 3 was also used. The results of the HBDT demonstrated no significant difference between individuals with an ED and healthy controls. However, performance on this task also did not appear to be different from that expected by chance. Thus, these results cast doubt on the utility of the present HBDT for measuring interoceptive sensitivity. Overall, the findings indicate that further research is needed to develop valid, objective measures of interoceptive sensitivity to be used in EDs, so as to overcome the reliance on the Eating Disorders Inventory 3 self-report subscale and to determine how such measures relate to ED and general psychopathology.

The International journal of eating disorders, 2010

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of inducing body dissatisfaction on se... more The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of inducing body dissatisfaction on selective attention toward negative shape and weight-related information. A total of 54 female undergraduate university students were randomly allocated to one of three induction conditions: body dissatisfaction, negative mood, and neutral. Subsequently, participants' attentional bias toward negative shape/weight words was measured using a dot probe task. Contrary to the hypotheses, participants in the body dissatisfaction condition did not demonstrate an increase in attention toward negative shape/weight words compared with the negative mood and neutral conditions. Indeed, it was the negative mood induction that resulted in significantly increased attention toward negative shape/weight words relative to the body dissatisfaction condition. The finding that the negative mood (rather than the body dissatisfaction) induction triggered an attentional bias toward shape- and weight-related i...

Clinical obesity, 2014

An obese individual's social context influences the extent to which they engage in weight con... more An obese individual's social context influences the extent to which they engage in weight control behaviors. Although the available literature acknowledges the importance of social support for weight management, detailed analyses of obese individuals' experiences of social support for weight loss and/or weight loss maintenance have not been undertaken. Using a qualitative approach, this study presents 22 Australian obese women's perspectives of the availability and effectiveness of social support for weight control. Three superordinate categories, namely, ineffective support, effective support and personal barriers to accessing support, and 12 subcategories were identified. Participants reported minimal access to quality support for weight management, while also suggesting ways in which obese women themselves may hamper significant others' provision of effective support. The results support the investigation of interventions designed to enhance the skills of signific...

International Journal of Eating Disorders, 2006

The objective of this study was to investigate the causal role of selective attention to shape/we... more The objective of this study was to investigate the causal role of selective attention to shape/weight-related information in terms of intensifying body dissatisfaction. The participants were 70 female first-year psychology students aged 17-28 years. An attentional probe task was used to induce attention toward either negative shape/weight-related words, neutral words, or negatively valenced emotion words. Thereafter vulnerability toward the development of body dissatisfaction was assessed in the three groups after being exposed to a body image challenge. The induction of an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information resulted in higher body dissatisfaction compared with both control groups. The results support the notion that an attentional bias toward shape/weight-related information plays a causal role in body dissatisfaction, suggesting that such biases may prove to be a useful target in interventions designed to improve body image.

Background: It has been previously found that individuals with an eating disorder experience the ... more Background: It has been previously found that individuals with an eating disorder experience the rubber hand illusion (RHI) significantly more strongly than healthy controls on both perceptual (proprioceptive drift) and subjective (self-report embodiment questionnaire) measures. Such heightened sensitivity to visual information about the body, and reduced somatosensory information processing about the body, indicate an increased malleability of the bodily self. The aim of the present study was to explore whether this is a state or persisting/trait phenomenon. Method: The RHI and self-report measures of eating disorder psychopathology (EDI-3 subscales of Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, Body Dissatisfaction, Interoceptive Deficits, and Emotional Dysregulation; DASS-21; and the Self

PPmP - Psychotherapie · Psychosomatik · Medizinische Psychologie, 2012

Psychological Medicine, 2013

BackgroundPrevious research has demonstrated an association between low motivation to change and ... more BackgroundPrevious research has demonstrated an association between low motivation to change and an unfavorable treatment outcome in patients with an eating disorder. Consequently, various studies have examined the effects of motivational enhancement therapy (MET) on motivation to change and treatment outcome in eating disorders. In each of these studies, MET was administered in a face-to-face setting. However, because of its anonymity and ease of access, the internet provides several advantages as the format for such an intervention. Therefore, the current study investigated the effects of an internet-based program (‘ESS-KIMO’) to enhance motivation to change in eating disorders.MethodIn total, 212 females were accepted for participation and assigned randomly to the intervention condition (n = 103) or waiting-list control condition (n = 109). The intervention consisted of six online MET sessions. Before and after the intervention or waiting period respectively, participants complet...

Psychological Medicine, 2011

BackgroundThe rubber hand illusion (RHI) has been widely used to investigate the bodily self in h... more BackgroundThe rubber hand illusion (RHI) has been widely used to investigate the bodily self in healthy individuals. The aim of the present study was to extend the use of the RHI to examine the bodily self in eating disorders (EDs).MethodThe RHI and self-report measures of ED psychopathology [the Eating Disorder Inventory – 3 (EDI-3) subscales of Drive for Thinness, Bulimia, Body Dissatisfaction, Interoceptive Deficits, and Emotional Dysregulation; the 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21); and the Self-Objectification Questionnaire (SOQ)] were administered to 78 individuals with an ED and 61 healthy controls.ResultsIndividuals with an ED experienced the RHI significantly more strongly than healthy controls on both perceptual (i.e. proprioceptive drift) and subjective (i.e. self-report questionnaire) measures. Furthermore, both the subjective experience of the RHI and associated proprioceptive biases were correlated with ED psychopathology. Approximately 23% of the ...

Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2014

Background: One of the main problems of Internet-delivered interventions for a range of disorders... more Background: One of the main problems of Internet-delivered interventions for a range of disorders is the high dropout rate, yet little is known about the factors associated with this. We recently developed and tested a Web-based 6-session program to enhance motivation to change for women with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or related subthreshold eating pathology. Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify predictors of dropout from this Web program. Methods: A total of 179 women took part in the study. We used survival analyses (Cox regression) to investigate the predictive effect of eating disorder pathology (assessed by the Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire; EDE-Q), depressive mood (Hopkins Symptom Checklist), motivation to change (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale; URICA), and participants' age at dropout. To identify predictors, we used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method. Results: The dropout rate was 50.8% (91/179) and was equally distributed across the 6 treatment sessions. The LASSO analysis revealed that higher scores on the Shape Concerns subscale of the EDE-Q, a higher frequency of binge eating episodes and vomiting, as well as higher depression scores significantly increased the probability of dropout. However, we did not find any effect of the URICA or age on dropout. Conclusions: Women with more severe eating disorder pathology and depressive mood had a higher likelihood of dropping out from a Web-based motivational enhancement program. Interventions such as ours need to address the specific needs of women with more severe eating disorder pathology and depressive mood and offer them additional support to prevent them from prematurely discontinuing treatment.

European Eating Disorders Review, 2009

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of attentional training towards shape, ... more The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of attentional training towards shape, weight and food related information on body dissatisfaction and dietary restriction. A total of 98 female participants were trained to attend to negative shape/weight words, positive shape/weight words, negative (high calorie) food words, positive (low calorie) food words or neutral words. Subsequently, a body image challenge was presented and participants' body dissatisfaction and dietary restriction were measured. Results indicated that negative shape/weight attentional biases exacerbated body dissatisfaction and a bias towards negative food words intensified dietary restriction. The study provides evidence for specificity in the effects of attentional biases and supports the notion that attentional training may be a useful component in interventions to improve body image and reduce dieting.

This is the data set as supporting information, provided as .sav file. Further information is ava... more This is the data set as supporting information, provided as .sav file. Further information is available on request.

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Purpose This study sought to develop a psychometrically-sound measure to assess effective and ine... more Purpose This study sought to develop a psychometrically-sound measure to assess effective and ineffective forms of input from others for managing one’s weight, namely, the Weight-Related Interactions Scale (WRIS). Methods Participants (n = 736) were adults in the overweight/obese weight range who completed the WRIS and measures of weight-specific social support, emotional eating, weight-related stigma, eating-specific self-efficacy, and social desirability. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the WRIS supported a three-factor solution of ‘Criticism’, ‘Minimization’, and ‘Collaboration’ as forms of weight-related input from others. Support was found for the reliability and the concurrent, convergent, and divergent validity of the WRIS. Conclusions The WRIS is a promising new instrument for comprehensively assessing the input of others in relation to managing one’s weight, eating, and physical activity. Level of evidence: Level III. Evidence obtained from well-desi...