In search of predictors of dropout from inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate risk factors associated with premature dropout in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN). METHOD: Eighty-one women who received free inpatient treatment for AN on a clinical research unit at a university-based psychiatric facility participated in this study. Demographic, lifetime, and baseline clinical characteristics as well as self-report measures of eating disorder symptomatology and associated psychopathology were assessed upon admission. RESULTS: Results indicated that AN subtype was [corrected] modestly predictive of treatment dropout. DISCUSSION: With the exception of AN subtype [corrected], successful completion of inpatient treatment may be unrelated to the severity of eating disorder symptomatology and associated psychopathology. Continued empirical research into factors that influence treatment dropout is clearly needed.