Intellect, perceptual characteristics, and weight gain in anorexia nervosa

Studied weight gain in a group of primary anorexics by examining two popular psychodiagnostic measures, the Wechsler and Rorschach, for indices that may predict improvement. Twenty-seven successively admitted anorexics to a behavior modification weight gain program at NIMH were studied. Using weight gain as a continuous criterion, multiple regression analyses indicated that perceptual-personality variables did not have any predictive power. Cognitive focusing skills, as measured by the Arithmetic and Digit Span subtests of the Wechsler, were found to account for roughly half of the variance and to be good predictors of weight gain.