Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T14:34:19.414Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Comparison of Lenient and Strict Operant Conditioning Programmes in Refeeding Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

S. W. Touyz ,
P. J. V. Beumont ,
D. Glaun ,
T. Phillips  and
I. Cowie
S. W. Touyz
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown 2050, N.S.W., Australia
P. J. V. Beumont
Affiliation:
University of Sydney, Broadway, N.S.W., Australia
D. Glaun
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Broadway, N.S.W., Australia
T. Phillips
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Broadway, N.S.W., Australia
I. Cowie
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Broadway, N.S.W., Australia
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The present paper compares a lenient and a strict operant conditioning programme in refeeding patients with anorexia nervosa. Sixty-five consecutive in-patients participated in the study. We found no significant difference in the rate of weight-gain between the two treatments. There were, however, a number of practical advantages in using the more lenient programme: it was more economical of nursing time, and patients were more accessible to psychotherapy. The programme was also more acceptable to the patients.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 5 , May 1984 , pp. 517 - 520
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agras, W. S. & Werne, J. (1978) Behaviour therapy in anorexia nervosa: A data-based approach to the question. In Controversy in Psychiatry, (ed. Brady, J. P. and Brodie, H. K.). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.Google Scholar
Agras, W. S., Barlow, D. H., Chaplin, H. N., Abel, G. G. & Leitenberg, H. (1974) Behaviour modification of anorexia nervosa. Archives of General Psychiatry, 30, 279–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bachrach, A. J., Erwin, W. J. & Mohr, J. P. (1965) The control of eating behaviour in an anorexic by operant conditioning techniques. In Case Studies in Behaviour Modification, (ed. Ullman, L. P. and Krasner, L.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Bhanji, S. & Thompson, J. (1974) Operant conditioning in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. A review and retrospective study of 11 cases. British Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 161–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bruch, H. (1974) Perils of behaviour modification in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Journal of the American Medical Association, 230, 1419–22Google ScholarPubMed
Eckert, E. D., Goldberg, S. C., Halmi, K. A., Casper, R. C. & Davis, J. (1979) Behaviour therapy in anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 55–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halmi, K. A., Powers, P. & Cunningham, S. (1975) Treatment of anorexia nervosa with behavior modification. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32, 93–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lazarus, A. A. (1981) The Practice of Multimodal Therapy. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Morgan, H. G. & Russell, G. F. (1975) Value of family background and clinical features as predictors of long-term outcome in anorexia nervosa: four year follow-up study of 41 patients. Psychological Medicine, 5, 355–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, G. F. M. (1970) Anorexia nervosa: its identity as an illness and its treatment. In Modern Trends in Psychological Medicine, (ed. J. H. Price). London: Butterworths.Google Scholar
Russell, G. F. M. (1981) Current treatment of anorexia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry, 138, 164–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Society of Actuaries (1959) Build and Blood Pressure Study 1959 (2 vols). Society of Actuaries: Itasca, Illinois.Google Scholar
Touyz, S. W., Gilandas, A. J. & Beumont, P. J. V. (1980) Treating and eating disorder with behavioural techniques. In Geigy Psychiatric Symposium on Behavioural Medicine, (ed. Tiller, J. W. G. and Martin, P. R.). Vol. 9, 173–7.Google Scholar
Weed, L. L. (1968) Medical records that guide and teach. New England Journal of Medicine, 278, 593–600.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.