Citation

Phillips KA, Didie ER, Menard W, Pagano ME, Fay C, Weisberg RB. Psychiatry Res. 2006; 141(3): 305-314.

Affiliation

Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd., Providence, RI 02906, USA. Katharine_Phillips@brown.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psychres.2005.09.014

PMID

16499973

PMCID

PMC1592052

Abstract

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) usually begins during adolescence, but its clinical features have received little investigation in this age group. Two hundred individuals with BDD (36 adolescents; 164 adults) completed interviewer-administered and self-report measures. Adolescents were preoccupied with numerous aspects of their appearance, most often their skin, hair, and stomach. Among the adolescents, 94.3% reported moderate, severe, or extreme distress due to BDD, 80.6% had a history of suicidal ideation, and 44.4% had attempted suicide. Adolescents experienced high rates and levels of impairment in school, work, and other aspects of psychosocial functioning. Adolescents and adults were comparable on most variables, although adolescents had significantly more delusional BDD beliefs and a higher lifetime rate of suicide attempts. Thus, adolescents with BDD have high levels of distress and rates of functional impairment, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. BDD's clinical features in adolescents appear largely similar to those in adults.

Language: en