Background and purpose: Eating disorders are groups of mental disorders caused by several factors that result in different problems for patients and their families. This study investigated the prediction of eating disorders on the basis of alexithymia’s components. Material and Methods: The research population included 234 people attending Tehran’s health houses, chosen through sampling method. For data collection, Ahwaz eating disorders scale and Toronto alexithymia scale were used. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis in SPSS ver.21. Results: The results showed that alexithymia’s components significantly predict anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and total eating disorders scale. In anorexia nervosa and total score of eating disorders, the role of difficulty in identifying feeling and externally oriented thinking were significant, also in prediction of bulimia nervosa only difficulty identifying feelings had a significant role. Conclusion: The results of current study can be used for better understanding on characteristics of patients with eating disorder.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorder, alexithymia

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