Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41351457›Full record

ArticleEuropean eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association2026

Social Anxiety and Peer Relationships Predict Weight Recovery in Adolescent Onset Anorexia Nervosa.

Victoria Burmester, Erica Cini, Tahmida Baksh, Nikita Catalina Julius, Keziah Chung, Dasha Nicholls

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Social Anxiety and Peer Relationships Predict Weight Recovery in Adolescent Onset Anorexia Nervosa.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Victoria BurmesterDivision of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7566-3640
Erica CiniDepartment of C&A Psychiatry, IoPPN, King's College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0999-2379
Tahmida BakshEast London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
Nikita Catalina JuliusDivision of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0815-0351
Keziah ChungDivision of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Dasha NichollsDivision of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7257-6605

Funding

Rosetrees CPGS21/10227
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdolescence is period of social change during which peer relationships are prioritised. The desire for social approval, which heavily influences behaviour, is often linked to an increased risk of developing an eating disorder (ED). Social cognition is impaired in ED and both autism and social anxiety frequently co-occur. It is difficult to disentangle the contributing factors of cognitive and interpersonal difficulties in adolescents who present at children's ED services, and whether these relate to treatment response. We investigated whether baseline social measures predicted early treatment response after the initial 6-month period.

methodsAdolescents aged 12-16 years (N = 983) treated by children's community ED services in England, UK, between 2017 and 2023, completed the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scales (RCADS) and/or the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at assessment. Early weight restoration, defined as reaching at least 85% median-BMI adjusted for age and sex, at 6 months, was the primary outcome. A multiple linear regression was conducted using three measures: RCADS' Social Phobia, SDQ's Peer Problems and SDQ's Prosocial Behaviour to predict the degree of early weight restoration (85%medBMI), which was the primary outcome.

resultsThe combined baseline social predictors: social phobia (standardised β = -0.382), peer problems (standardised β = -0.118) and prosocial behaviour (standardised β = -0.105) explained 20% of variance in weight restoration at 6-months post assessment (p < 0.001). Individual predictors regressed to %mBMI, were not moderated by age, with peer problems negatively predicting weight at 6 months and prosociality scores demonstrating significant skew because self-rated scores were high. Exploratory analyses showed that social anxiety was greater in those who did not reach early weight recovery at 6-months post assessment.

conclusionsAssessing and addressing difficulties in social/peer group functioning might be a central consideration in treatment for AN in adolescents. Further research is needed to better understand the role of social functioning in recovery from AN.

Indexed as

Anorexia NervosaAnxietyInterpersonal RelationsPeer GroupPhobia, SocialSocial BehaviorAdolescentChildFemaleHumansMaleadolescentanorexia nervosainterpersonalpeerssocial anxietyweight recovery

Identifiers

PMID41351457
PMCPMC13048746

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.