Factors of readiness and motivation to abstain and treatment outcomes in binge eating disorder patients

Many of the current treatment models for binge eating disorder (BED) are found to be effective in only 50% of patients. Thus, the need to identify and understand those factors that affect predictive treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with BED is imperative for higher levels of patient success. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to investigate if readiness and motivation to abstain can predict favorable response to binge eating disorder treatment in a sample of women (N = 16) between the ages of 18 and 55 years and diagnosed with BED. Motivation and readiness to abstain was measured by the Binge Readiness to Change scale. Binge eating symptomatology was measured using the Binge Eating Scale. To measure the effects of treatment, patients where assessed pre- and posttreatment. The hypothesis of this study was tested using regression analysis assessing the degree to which pretreatment motivation predicted changes in binge eating scores pre- to posttreatment. The results indicated that motivation is a significant predictor of changes in binge eating pre- to posttreatment. This study's findings increase understanding of the role in which motivation (or readiness to abstain) predicts treatment success for patients diagnosed with BED.