Examining transdiagnostic factors among religious and spiritual individuals with comorbid eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders

Eating disorders (EDs) have a harmful impact on the lives of millions of individuals in the United States. Research indicates that comorbid trauma could negatively impact treatment outcomes, reinforcing ED symptomology. Transdiagnostic approaches underscore experiential avoidance as a maintaining factor for EDs and other comorbid concerns, while mindfulness and adaptive coping help disrupt avoidance of emotional experiences. In addition to treatment approaches, clinicians must consider cultural identity factors, such as religion and spirituality (R/S), to engage in culturally responsive treatment. In the present study, we examined transdiagnostic factors in a clinical sample of 1153 individuals with comorbid EDs and post-traumatic stress disorder (99.6% of the sample), specifically considering differences between those who identified as religious, spiritual, or neither. Using a one-way analysis of variance, we found statistically significant differences in ED symptomology and adaptive coping scores across groups. Conversely, we found no statistically significant differences in mindfulness and experiential avoidance scores across groups. Despite the small effect sizes, these preliminary findings add to the existing body of research on R/S using a transdiagnostic framework, supporting the integration of spirituality into ED treatment to promote adaptive coping. Future research is needed to address the study’s limitations, such as exploring adaptive coping styles that may further explain these relationships.