Evaluating the Utility of EDNOS as a Diagnostic Category

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DESCRIPTION (provided by candidate): The majority of eating disorder (ED) treatment-seekers can only be classified as having Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS). The typicality of this supposedly "atypical" diagnosis has prompted several recent applications for reclassification, including the relaxation of current DSM criteria to accommodate some EDNOS cases as full syndrome disorders. In order to weigh the relative merits of new diagnostic schemes, the decision-making body for the upcoming DSM-V will need a synthesis of available data. Therefore, the aim of this project is to meta-analyze over 200 studies on the similarity of EDNOS versus full syndrome EDs in order to determine average effect sizes in the domains of eating pathology, general psychopathology, and physical health. Potential moderators will include specific diagnostic criteria (e.g., amenorrhea, binge frequency) being considered for omission in DSM-V. Studies will be procured via electronic databases, hand-searching of relevant journals, backward and forward searching of obtained references, and contact with investigators. Coding decisions will be manualized and examined for inter-rater reliability, and analyses will be conducted on Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software. The conclusions will provide a comprehensive and timely empirical evaluation of the current diagnostic criteria for ED phenotypes, which will inform DSM-V decision-makers as well as future investigations of ED genotypes and treatments.