Classification of eating disturbance in children and adolescents: proposed changes for the DSM-V.
Childhood and adolescence are critical periods of neural development and physical growth. The malnutrition and related medical complications resulting from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified may have more severe and potentially more protracted consequences during youth than during other age periods. The consensus opinion of an international workgroup of experts on the diagnosis and treatment of child and adolescent eating disorders is that (a) lower and more developmentally sensitive thresholds of symptom severity (e.g. lower frequency of purging behaviours, significant deviations from growth curves as indicators of clinical severity) be used as diagnostic boundaries for children and adolescents, (b) behavioural indicators of psychological features of eating disorders be considered even in the absence of direct self-report of such symptoms and (c) multiple informants (e.g. parents) be used to ascertain symptom profiles. Collectively, these recommendations will permit earlier identification and intervention to prevent the exacerbation of eating disorder symptoms.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Humans
- Health Planning Guidelines
- Feeding and Eating Disorders
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Clinical Psychology
- Child Development
- Child Behavior
- Child
- Bulimia Nervosa
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Sensitivity and Specificity
- Humans
- Health Planning Guidelines
- Feeding and Eating Disorders
- Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
- Clinical Psychology
- Child Development
- Child Behavior
- Child
- Bulimia Nervosa