EDs vs. Problematic Eating Behavior
Over the past two decades, the field of abnormal psychology has
experienced a major change in how psychological dysfunction is
conceptualized, with clear abandonment of dichotomous-categorical models
(e.g., the traditional “disorders”) in favor of
hierarchical-dimensional models focused on structural arrangements of
relatively homogenous major traits and symptoms. Though dimensional
models of psychopathology have certainly existed for much longer (e.g.,
Achenbach, 1966; Harkness, 1992; Meehl, 1992; Tellegen, 1985), recent
developments reflect a true paradigm shift. Notable initiatives that
have accelerated this shift include the NIMH RDoC program (Insel, 2014)
and the more recent HiTOP project (e.g., Kotov et al., 2017; Krueger et
al., 2018). It is possible that inconsistent findings in previous
research, particularly research that focused on examining suicide risk
within specific diagnostic groups of EDs, may be due to some of the
limitations of the categorical model of diagnosis. This in conjunction
with the support for moving to a hierarchical-dimensional model of
diagnosis led to our decision to focus on dimensional measures of eating
pathology, as well as specific problematic eating behaviors, instead of
relying on diagnostic categories.