Aim: To assess lifetime substance abuse, family history of alcohol abuse/dependence, and novelty seeking in three different eating disorder groups (anorexia nervosa–restrictive; anorexia nervosa–binge eating/purging; anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa).
Method: A total sample of 371 eating disorder patients participated in the current study. Assessment measures included the prevalence of substance abuse and family history of alcohol abuse/dependence as well as the novelty‐seeking subscale of the Temperament and Character Inventory–Revised.
Results: Significant differences across groups were detected for lifetime substance abuse, with anorexia nervosa–restrictive individuals exhibiting a significant lower prevalence than the anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa–binge eating/ purging patients (P < 0.01). For family history of alcohol abuse/dependence the same pattern was observed (P = 0.04). Novelty seeking was associated with substance abuse (P = 0.002), with the anorexia nervosa to bulimia nervosa group exhibiting significantly higher scores on the novelty‐seeking scale than the other two groups (P < 0.001). But family history of alcohol abuse/dependence was not related to novelty seeking (P = 0.092).
Conclusion: Lifetime substance abuse appears to be more prevalent in anorexia nervosa patients with bulimic features. Higher novelty‐seeking scores may be associated with diagnosis cross‐over.