Is it time for a paradigm shift? Trauma in the development of anorexia nervosa in adolescents

In the sample of adolescent girls studied, the mere occurrence of reported trauma was not a factor differentiating patients with AN from healthy peers, nor was it a negative predictor of early hospital treatment outcomes. These results suggest that although specific forms of emotional abuse may co-occur with a more severe psychopathological picture (anxiety, self-destruction), childhood maltreatment does not necessarily constitute a direct obstacle to symptomatic improvement during the first hospitalisation.