Investigation of the relationship between eating disorders and self-efficacy, problem solving skills and early maladaptive schemes

There is no consensus among studies in the literature on the relationship between self-efficacy, problem-solving skills, and early maladaptive schemas with eating disorder. For this reason, it was aimed to examine the relationship between eating disorders and self-efficacy, problem-solving skills and early maladaptive schemas. In the study, a survey was conducted between May and September of 2021 with individuals living in Turkey, over the age of 18 and without any psychiatric diagnosis. 147 men and 258 women participated in the study. The ages of the participants ranged between 19-67 and the mean age was found to be 34.34±10.48 years. The questionnaire form includes sociodemographic form, "Eating Disorder Assessment Scale", "General Self-Efficacy Scale" to measure self-efficacy levels, and "Problem Solving Inventory" and "Young Schema Scale-Short Form" to evaluate problem solving skills. Spearman's rho correlation was performed in relational screening analyses. There was a statistically significant correlation between the restriction score of the eating disorder and the level of self-efficacy (r=0.161; p<0.01) and problem-solving skills (r=-0.120; p<0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship between Young's Early Stage schema score and eating anxiety (r=0.367; p<0.01), body anxiety (r=0.376; p<0.01), weight anxiety (r=0.393; p<0.01) and total score (r=0.356; p<0.01) of eating disorders. YBDI total score includes the symptoms of eating anxiety symptoms (B=0.577; p<0.01), the symptoms of body anxiety symptoms (B=1.02; p<0.01), weight anxiety symptom (B=0.591; p<0.01), and the total score (B=0.591; p<0.01) in the YBDÖ (B=0.951; p<0.01) predicted significantly. According to gender, PSI total score and all CPS scores, except pessimism, approval seeking and privilege, were statistically significantly higher in males (p<0.05). These findings are important in terms of understanding the factors affecting the symptomatic level of eating disorders in individuals who have not received any psychiatric diagnosis and to have a preliminary knowledge of eating disorders before clinical applications. In conclusion, early maladaptive schemas significantly predicted eating disorder symptoms. More emphasis can be placed on early maladaptive schemas in the clinical treatment of eating disorders. In conclusion, early maladaptive schemas significantly predicted eating disorder symptoms. It is thought that more importance can be given to early maladaptive schemas in clinical applications for eating disorders. These findings are important in terms of understanding the factors that have impact on eating disorders when theyare still symptomatic among individuals who have not received any psychiatric diagnosis and offer suggestions for clinical applications.Tamam