OP-008 Psychological characteristics and quality of life of adolescents with eating disorders

Aim The purpose of this study was to examine the psychological characteristics and health-related quality of life in adolescents. Material and Method In this continuous cross-sectional study adolescents (16±0,5) were selected; sociodemographic information was collected, including family composition, living conditions, employment of adolescents and their eating habits. Also the Russian versions of Eating Disorder Inventory and the PedsQL 4.0 were filled out. U- and Chi-square tests were used. The initial sample that met the inclusion criteria was 396 people. Based on the scales Drive for thinness (high for 75 participants) and Bulimia (128 participants), a group of 51 people, mainly girls, 48 (94.11%) was selected. For comparison, a group of girls without eating disorders was used (n=139). Results Girls at risk of eating disorders were significantly more likely to have mothers aged 40–49 years (p=0.03) with higher education (p=0.009) and spent more time on PC (p=0.001). They turned out to have less pronounced scales 'Interoceptive awareness' and more — 'Interpersonal distrust', 'Perfectionism' and 'Ineffectiveness' (all at the p<0.001 level). Also, the scores on the scales of the PedsQL 4.0 are lower in these adolescents (p<0.001). It turns out that perfectionism in adolescents may be a significant predictor of the development of eating disorder because it is closely related to dissatisfaction with one's body and is a kind of attempt to overcome this dissatisfaction. Interpersonal distrust is connected with the feeling of loneliness in two ways: food can be used to dull feelings of loneliness, or act as a trigger, since social contacts are accompanied by its intake. Conclusions Adolescents with eating disorder problems view themselves as less attractive in social interactions. They avoid them because social contacts are accompanied by food intake. This increases feelings of social isolation and loneliness, which in turn causes a global decline in quality of life.