Katie Stockford

Publications (2)3.48 Total impact

• Article: Stages of change in anorexic and bulimic disorders: the importance of illness representations.

  Myra Cooper, Katie Stockford, Hannah Turner
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  ABSTRACT: This study investigated the relationship between illness representations and stage of change in women with anorexic (N=33) and women with bulimic (N=36) disorders. A cross-sectional design was employed and participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires. The relationship between illness representations and stage of change was explored in the two groups separately using hierarchical multiple regression analyses. A number of different items from the illness representations measure, together with locus of control and social support, explained relatively high proportions of the variance in each stage of change in the two groups. Where similar items emerged as important in both groups, their relative importance showed variation according to stage of change being considered. Implications for differential approach to treatment in the two disorders are discussed in the context of the study limitations.
  Eating Behaviors 01/2008; 8(4):474-84. · 1.58 Impact Factor
• Article: Illness perception and its relationship to readiness to change in the eating disorders: a preliminary investigation.

  Katie Stockford, Hannah Turner, Myra Cooper
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  ABSTRACT: This study investigated the psychometric properties of a modified version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire - Revised (IPQ-R) in individuals with eating disorders. The relationship between illness representations and stage of change was then explored. Design and method. A cross-sectional design was employed and participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires. A subset of participants completed the IPQ-R again after 2 weeks in order to assess test-retest reliability. The relationship between illness representations and stage of change was explored using hierarchical multiple regression analyses. Sixty-nine participants with a clinical eating disorder took part in the study. With the exception of the causal subscales, the modified version of the IPQ-R had good internal validity and good test-retest reliability. Consequences, treatment control and personal control as well as cyclical timeline perceptions accounted for a significant and unique amount of variance in readiness to change stage scores. Findings suggest that this modified version of the IPQ-R provides a reliable means of exploring illness representations in individuals with eating disorders. Given the significant relationships between illness representations and stage of change, it may be helpful to consider these aspects of illness representations when carrying out therapeutic work with this clinical population. Further research might usefully investigate the relationship between illness perceptions and clinical outcome, as well as examine what factors are important in the shift between stages of change in a longitudinal design.
  British Journal of Clinical Psychology 07/2007; 46(Pt 2):139-54. · 1.90 Impact Factor