The role of readiness for change in the residential treatment recovery outcomes among female adolescents with anorexia nervosa

This investigation aimed to determine if readiness for change predicted recovery outcomes among female adolescents aged 14–19 in residential treatment for anorexia nervosa. The manifest variables of recovery including weight gain, severity of anorexia nervosa, co-morbid psychiatric illness, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL), were assessed in relation to readiness for change and control variables including age upon admission, length of stay, and previous residential or inpatient treatment. Data was collected at admission and discharge from residential treatment. Paired t-tests determined that all of the components of the recovery model as well as readiness for change improved at a statistically significant level from admission to discharge. Readiness for change did not prove to be statistically significant in predicting recovery outcomes even when controlling for age upon admission, length of stay, and prior residential or inpatient treatment. Readiness for change, however, did appear to represent a component of recovery as it improved and worsened in concordance with the recovery outcomes. Length of stay in residential treatment was the only variable that predicted outcomes of recovery from anorexia nervosa and that outcome was weight gain. Length of stay was significantly correlated with improvement in all of the outcomes except for anxiety. Based upon the findings of this nursing investigation, recommendations for research, practice, and policy are presented