Self-silencing in a clinical sample of female adolescents with eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was designed to assess the relationship between self-silencing behaviours and eating disorder symptoms in a female adolescent population with eating disorders. METHOD: One hundred and forty-nine adolescent girls between the ages of 13 and 18 completed a comprehensive assessment at a tertiary care children's hospital. Each participant completed the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2; Garner, 1991), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC; March et al, 1997), and an adapted version of the Silencing the Self Scale for adolescents (STSS; Sippola & Bukowski, 1996). RESULTS: Self-silencing behaviours correlated strongly with eating disorder symptomatology. Social anxiety was found to predict body dissatisfaction, while externalized self-perception was found to contribute uniquely to body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness, two risk factors closely associated with eating disorders. CONCLUSION: These results suggest the importance of including relational and emotional development in comprehensive models of disordered eating.