Comparison of the Effectiveness of “Attachment-Based Therapy” and “Dialectical Behavior Therapy” on Food Response Styles and Food Cravings in Adolescent girls with Obesity

Obesity is one of the most important human problems that endangers physical and mental health. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of “Attachment-Based Therapy” and “Dialectical Behavior Therapy” on food response styles and food cravings in adolescent girls with obesity.

The method of the present study was quasi-experimental pre-test-post-test design. The statistical population included all female high school students in Sari in the academic year 2009-2010. The study sample consisted of 36 adolescent girls with obesity who were selected by lottery by simple random sampling method and by simple random sampling in 3 groups including, the first group under Attachment-Based Therapy”, the second group under “Dialectical Behavior Therapy" and follow-up (2 months) and control group were included. Data were collected using the “Food Response Styles Scale” and the “Food-Cravings Questionnaire”. The validity of the instruments was not measured and was limited to previous studies and the reliability by the internal consistency method by calculating the Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient. Both intervention groups received training intervention in 10 sessions (90 minutes) Data were analyzed using SPSS. 23. 

Both treatments were associated with significant effectiveness in food response styles and food cravings (P<0.01). The results also showed that "Dialectical Behavior Therapy" was more effective than “Attachment-Based Therapy” in food response styles and food cravings. The results of 2-month follow-up of the intervention showed the stability of treatment (P <0.01).

Both “Attachment-Based Therapy” and "Dialectical Behavior Therapy " are effective on food response styles and food cravings in adolescent girls with obesity. Therefore, it is suggested that the above methods be used in endocrine and obesity treatment centers for adolescents with obesity.