Changes in eating pathology and associated symptoms among chronically ill adults attending a brief psychoeducational group

ObjectiveTwo quasi-experimental pilot studies examined eating pathology, eating self-efficacy, shame, guilt, and pride in adults with chronic illness before and after participating in brief cognitive–behavioral psychoeducational groups addressing eating concerns.MethodIn Study 1, 60 adults completed assessments before and after a series of two groups; in Study 2, 21 adults also completed an assessment five weeks prior to the first group to identify time-related changes in symptoms.ResultsStudy 1 participants improved across domains, whereas Study 2 analyses also examining time-related changes showed improvements in eating self-efficacy, shame, guilt, and pride, but not in eating pathology.DiscussionPsychoeducational groups may help improve symptoms including eating pathology, eating self-efficacy, shame, guilt, and pride among chronically-ill adults with eating concerns.