*1.3. Effortful Control*

Effortful control and its subdimensions (inhibitory, activation, and attentional control) can be measured using the effortful control scale (ECS) from the adult temperament questionnaire short form (ATQ-SF) [40,41]. The perception of low control and the desire for higher control in AN patients (and in particular, patients with AN-R) are psychological variables that were frequently considered in the papers of the original ED theorists, including Bruch [42], Crisp [43], Garfinkel and Garner [44], and Selvini Palazzoli [45]. In the 1980s, Eric Button [46], described AN as a quest for control. Indeed, studies comparing ED subtypes utilizing the ECS show that AN-R patients score significantly higher on effortful control than AN-BP/BN patients, particularly on the subscales for inhibitory and activation control [23,31]. Studies comparing obesity subtypes utilizing Cloninger's self-directedness or Rothbart's effortful control scales do not show differences among Class I, II, and III obesity categories with respect to self-directedness; however, obese patients with BED score significantly lower on self-directedness/effortful control, compared to obese patients without BED [6,47]. Thus, it seems that a lack of effortful control may make ED/obese patients vulnerable to binge eating (and purging).
